Somaliland Is Lobbying for U.S. Recognition Next

The breakaway territory of Somaliland, fresh off establishing formal ties with Israel late last year, is aiming for a much higher diplomatic prize. The government has hired a major firm with ties to the Trump administration to lobby in Washington for U.S. recognition, according to a recent Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filing. Somalia hired its own lobbying firm to counter the offensive, marking a rival influence campaign that could potentially reshape U.S. policy in the Horn of Africa.

Nestpoint, a Dallas-based private equity and government affairs firm, was retained by Somaliland to “develop and execute a comprehensive strategy to secure international recognition…by engaging U.S. government stakeholders,” the filing states. The firm will receive $7,500 a month under the one-year contract that was signed in October and registered under FARA in December, and which also calls for pitching investment in Somaliland. In a December news release published on its website, Nestpoint said it had two goals for its new client: diplomatic recognition and economic self-reliance.

“Their [Nestpoint’s] ability to bridge the gap between diplomatic advocacy and economic development makes them the ideal partner to help Somaliland take its rightful place on the world stage,” read part of a statement attributed to Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi.

Nestpoint is run by a coterie of prominent GOP strategists, including cable TV pundit John Thomas. The firm counts former 2016 Trump campaign field director Stuart Jolly as its chief lobbyist. Jolly, who Trump personally congratulated on stage for his first primary win in New Hampshire, also previously ran the pro-Trump Super PAC, Great America PAC. He is listed as one of the lobbyists in the FARA disclosure.

Somaliland’s move to enter the lobbying arena comes amid a full-court press by influential GOP think tanks to recognize the territory, which has emerged as a strategic battleground in a growing struggle to exert influence over the Horn of Africa region. A Washington Post op-ed by Joshua Meservey, a fellow at the neoconservative Hudson Institute, said recognition was “recognizing reality.” Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, went as far as to say U.S. recognition would prevent a war between Somaliland and Somalia—despite Israeli recognition already triggering threats of armed confrontation and separatist violence.

Despite calls to embrace Somaliland, Nestpoint faces an uphill battle in Washington. A bill