US task force of Horn of Africa visit to Berbera ahead of the multinational justified accord military training exercise

In a press release, the United States Combined Joint Task Force of Horn of Africa personnel reported that they conducted a site survey visit to Berbera port in Somaliland. A visit that comes in advance of the US-led multinational military training exercise scheduled for February 2023.

The U.S clarified that the justified Accord is designed to increase multinational cooperation in responding to crises and counterterrorism attacks and to prepare regional partners for UN and AU missions. The statement added, In addition to the port of Berbera, Justified Accord exercises will take place in Botswana, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda with the participation of 20 partner countries.

In the statement the U.S. military stated that they regularly explore potential areas of operations for emergency preparedness and readiness exercises.

The government of Somaliland has not yet commented on this. However, Somaliland and the United States seem to be enhancing their partnerships as the US President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Fiscal year 2023 into law that includes US cooperation with Somaliland.

The act requires the defense and state departments to submit an annual report detailing assistance, diplomatic engagement and security initiatives in Somaliland. It also requires the US government to produce a feasibility report by June 2023 on opportunities for enhanced security cooperation between Somaliland and the United States.