The Inspiring Story Behind the Man Transforming the Global Remittance Industry: Meet Ismail Ahmed

 "If anyone needs to know how to build an empire from little other than a good brain, an incorruptible value system, and a vision, Ahmed is just the man." Tatenda

- From one of Africa’s most unlikely countries hails an unlikely hero whose story is equally inspiring. Ismail Ahmed, now known for founding WorldRemit, a global money transfer service, could have been killed in a civil war in his birth-country of Somaliland. Fortunately, he was able to make the then dangerous trek through Djibouti and eventually to London before his town was decimated during the war.

Emiratis plough millions into a country that no one recognises: Somaliland

"Somalia’s federal government can do little to stop the project  (DP WORD- Somaliland)"

- THE ancient port town of Berbera in Somaliland, a breakaway state in northern Somalia, is generally a sleepy place. The heat, which can reach 50 degrees Celsius in the summer, stifles even the dogs. Yet visitors will find it buzzing at the moment. Near the edge of town, sand and rubble fill the space where, until recently, there were 19th-century Ottoman traders’ houses. New buildings are springing up. A little out to sea, as half a dozen ships idle in the sun, a barge from Dubai hauls a colossal crane towards the shore.

Somaliland's Dr. Edna on statehood..

The Strategic Implications Of A Possible Russian Base In Somaliland

- If the unconfirmed reports about a possible Russian base in the breakaway region of Somaliland are to be believed, then Moscow is finally flexing its military muscles beyond Eurasia and signaling its eagerness to return to Africa. 

The typically trustworthy Alt-Media information portal South Front republished the claims that have been circulating for the past couple of days about a possible Russian military base in the breakaway region of Somaliland, a development that initially caught many observers off guard but is entirely explainable in hindsight if it actually comes to pass. The report alleges that Moscow has beenin talks with the self-proclaimed authorities in Hargeisa to build a small multiuse air and naval facility in the Djibouti-bordering town of Zeila in exchange for formally recognizing the region’s “independence”. 

 

Read more;

https://orientalreview.org/2018/04/06/the-strategic-implications-of-a-possible-russian-base-in-somaliland/

How the crisis in the Gulf could spread to East Africa

- Somaliland's port town of Berbera is sleepy and somewhat scruffy. Paintings of fish, crabs and sailboats adorn the faded buildings. Tangled nets lie in the sandy streets.

It is hard to imagine that this charming seaside town is at the centre of an almighty row between Somalia and this self-declared republic which broke away in 1991 but has not been recognised internationally. This dispute is part of a far wider problem. A crisis in the Gulf is playing out in dramatic form in Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa. Some argue it could tear the whole region apart.

After nearly 30 years of conflict and instability, Somalia is particularly vulnerable.

Read more;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-43585814

Somaliland’s location is its wealth, says president Mouse Bihin

- The first priority for me is the question of statehood ¬– gaining recognition for Somaliland" The President

Hargeisa, Somaliland: “We are seeking to exploit what belongs to us: our natural resources,” said Muse Bihi Abdi, the President of Somaliland, a self-declared independent republic in the Horn of Africa. “And we are trying to make massive use of our strategic location.” Abdi, who was elected president in November 2017, was speaking to reporters at his presidential palace, and took questions on a range of issues – from domestic challenges and relations with Somalia to business dealings with the Gulf states and leveraging the strategic location of his republic. Excerpts:

Somaliland minister: ‘Somalia can’t interfere in port deal’

“Had you come a day earlier, you’d have seen us loading camels onto ships heading to the Middle East. Somalia as a whole has the world’s largest number of camels, at six million,” said Ali Esmail Mahmoud, Head of Operations at DP World Berbera, as he took visiting journalists on a tour of the port.

“Since DP World took over the running of the port, there have been many changes,” Mahmoud said. “We’ve added a lot of equipment. We’ve ordered three mobile harbour cranes. Six reach stakers have been added, with three more on the way, along with empty container handlers, mobile cranes, internal terminal vehicles and forklifts.”