Somaliland Foreign Minister Essa Kayd met with President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday. It’s the first time the two have met since Taiwan and Somaliland established high-level trade ties in 2020.
It’s the moment the cameras have been waiting for. The foreign minister of Somaliland, Essa Kayd, greets President Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan’s Presidential Office Building.
Tsai says that Somaliland is Taiwan’s “new friend” in Africa. She says Taiwan and Somaliland both place a high value on freedom and democracy.
Kayd landed in Taiwan on Tuesday evening. It’s his first visit to Taiwan since Taiwan and Somaliland set up representative offices in each other’s territories. Somaliland is a self-governing state, but right now, no countries officially recognize Somaliland as independent from Somalia.
As a gesture of goodwill, Taiwan sent 150,000 doses of the Taiwan-made Medigen vaccine to Somaliland last month.
President Tsai says Somaliland and Taiwan have already become good friends. She says Taiwan and Somaliland will work together with other countries to build a resilient system for preventing the spread of COVID-19.
By offering substantial incentives for investment, Kayd is hoping this visit to Taiwan will be the start of a beautiful and lucrative friendship.