American policy toward Somaliland rests on a fiction. Washington treats the territory as if Mogadishu might one day govern it, even though Somaliland has run its own institutions since 1991. President Donald Trump can replace that fiction with a practical partnership by recognizing a state that Somalilanders have already built.

The timing is unusually clear. This year marks 35 years since Somaliland restored its sovereignty. The number also reaches back to June 1960, when Somaliland says 35 countries recognized its brief independence before it entered a union with Somalia. Israel’s recognition in December 2025 has now moved the question from theory to precedent.