Taipei (SD) – Somaliland and Taiwan have recently forged a new diplomatic agreement which includes bilateral relations between the two Internationally unrecognized countries.

Somaliland Foreign Minister Dr. Yasin Harir Faraton recently visited Taiwan and met with his counterpart Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and signed the agreement, according to source familiar with the matter.

Taiwan and Somaliland said they will open offices in each others capitals, with Taiwan seeing Somaliland as an independent country in the Horn of Africa.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Somaliland is a country that is located far, but that the two countries share a deep love for freedom and democracy.

Taiwan is in a bitter diplomatic war with China, which has foot prints in the Horn of Africa and wants to diplomatically align its self with Somaliland.

Somaliland denounced its unification with Somalia on May 18 1991 after a brutal civil war and is recognized a an autonomous peaceful region of Somalia.