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Somaliland-Puntland Strategic Cooperation
Somalis are excellent at bringing down one another. However, the
success of one Somali entity should not necessarily mean the painful
humiliation of other Somali entities. In other words, Somali
politics should not always be a zero-sum game. I am strongly
convinced that the political and economic development of any Somali
entity will have positive ripple effect on other entities.
Therefore, it is critical for Somalis to discourage the mutually
assured destructive mentality and endeavor to forge cooperation.
Currently, there are blatant disagreements and intermittent
political tensions between the Republic of Somaliland and Puntland
region. These occurrences, regardless of their objectives, need not
thwart other productive myriad aspects that require immediate
attention of cooperation. Each entity requires pursuing its
respective interests to the extent of arriving at cooperative
relations with other, and sometimes unpleasant, states. Thus,
Somaliland and Puntland should overlook trivial accidents and forge
cooperative relations. Forging the subsequent proposed strategic
cooperation, these two entities can better lift millions of their
citizens out of poverty as well as improve their safety and
security.
Economic Strategy
Prior to the civil war, more than 80% of Somalia’s export earnings
were coming from livestock alone. Due to the close proximity to Arab
markets, most of livestock exports were passing through the ports of
Berbera and Bosaso. However, after the collapse of the central
government, oversupplied Somali livestock has flooded the Gulf
markets, which, on certain occasions, forced Arab and Australian
businessmen to demand Gulf States to ban its importation. The Gulf
States subsequently succumbed to the pressure and banned the import
of Somali livestock by one pretext after another. This has resulted
the plummeting of livestock prices inside Somali inhibited regions;
hence, perpetuating abject poverty.
Somaliland and Puntland should therefore form a cartel-like
structure to coordinate their livestock export strategy by limiting
its supply in order to raise price and thereby enhance living
standards of millions of their citizens. This sustainable economic
strategy can lift millions of people out of abject poverty than what
assistance programs from the UN agencies may attain. If politically
rival countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran could both be members of
the carter group Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC), what prevents Somaliland and Puntland from creating a
livestock cartel? To ensure successful implementation of this
strategy, a joint commission that enforces the import quota on both
sides must be formed.
Safety and Security Strategy
By coordinating their public safety strategies, law enforcement
officials of Somaliland and Puntland can better improve security of
their respective territory. Currently, any arrangement of
cooperation between the two law enforcement agencies is nonexistent.
This zero-sum mentality results constant hazardous conditions in
both entities. For instance, it is a common knowledge now that
criminals who commit crimes in, say, Somaliland, travel effortlessly
to Puntland and vise versa. As there is no currently any
coordination or cooperation of law enforcement communities in
Puntland and Somaliland, ordinary citizens are forced to utilize any
means at their disposal to get back at their perpetrators who fled
to other territory for safe haven. To deter perpetrators from
committing heinous crimes and finding save havens, Somaliland and
Puntland should beef up cooperation between secret services, law
enforcement, border patrol officers and other security agencies to
prevent criminals from escaping.
Antiterrorism Strategy
Both Somaliland and Puntland have been victims of recent terror
attacks in their major cities. By sharing intelligence and pooling
resources, Somaliland and Puntland can disturb and dismantle terror
plots and executions against their interests. In order to apprehend
terrorist suspects promptly and dismantle their plots, both entities
need to accelerate their efforts to harmonize security laws and
topple barriers between them with the intention of sharing
information efficiently, which is an essential component of
antiterrorism strategy because it assists wipe out terrorist cells
and ward off any future attacks against either entities. Somaliland
and Puntland can share suspect’s whereabouts, criminal patterns,
level of threats and tips, names, criminal records, risk
assessments, etc, to bolster and enhance their safety.
Antipiracy Strategy
Most of pricy accidents are taking place in the waters of Puntland
region, and to lesser extend, Somaliland. These accidents have
skyrocketed the insurance premiums of ships (more than US$12 billion
per year of which the cost of protection and the rerouting is not
included) bringing food and other essentials to not only citizens of
Somaliland and Puntland, but also to neighboring and distant
countries. This in turn has negatively impacted the transportation
cost of local import traders. By forging alliance in antipiracy
campaigns and employing available detailed strategies, Somaliland
and Puntland can successfully tackle the problem of piracy in their
territories.
Abdi Hussein Daud
Minneapolis, MN
The author has obtained B.A. in Political Science/Global Studies
from the University of Minnes ota and currently pursuing Masters in
Health and Human Services Administration at Saint Ma y’s University
of Minnesota. He can be reached at:
abdihdaud@yahoo.com
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