Somaliland, seeking further international recognition of its independence after Israel's at the end of December, is ready to grant privileged access to its minerals and military bases to the United States, one of its ministers told AFP.

At the end of 2025, Israel became the first country to recognize this self-proclaimed republic as an "independent and sovereign state" since its secession from Somalia in 1991, provoking the anger of Mogadishu, which still claims control over the territory.

"We are ready to grant exclusive (mining) rights to the United States. We are also open to the idea of offering military bases to the United States," said the Minister of the Presidency, Khadar Hussein Abdi.

According to the Somaliland Ministry of Energy and Minerals, the country's soils are rich in lithium, tantalum, niobium, and coltan, strategic minerals, although studies are still lacking to determine the quantities.

Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, nicknamed "Irro", had already openly considered in recent weeks granting Israel privileged access to its mineral resources.

"We believe we will agree on something with the United States," Khadar Hussein Abdi continued during an interview conducted Saturday afternoon in his office at the presidential palace.

Washington already has a naval base in Djibouti, a country neighboring Somaliland. The two countries are located at the entrance to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest trade routes, linking the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal.

When questioned by AFP about granting a military base to Israel on its territory, the Minister of the Presidency replied that he "does not rule anything out" within the framework of a "strategic partnership between the two countries", which will be signed "soon" in Israel.

Regional analysts believe that this rapprochement with Somaliland is linked to the advantageous position of this territory, facing Yemen, where the Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, have carried out numerous attacks against Israel since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

Hargeisa had initially described the possible allocation of a military base to Israel as a "baseless allegation".

Since Donald Trump's return to power, the United States has adopted a very pragmatic diplomacy towards countries whose subsoil is full of resources that could benefit its economy.