Abdulbagi Annaji

Since February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel carried out coordinated strikes against sites inside Iranian territory, Africa has once again found itself caught in the fallout of a complex international crisis whose levers it does not control. By virtue of its deep integration into global trade networks and maritime supply chains, the continent has not remained a mere observer of a conflict unfolding in distant geography.

For decades, the Horn of Africa has been understood through the lens of a “regional security complex” in which the domestic stability of one state is inseparable from the vulnerabilities of its neighbours. Few bilateral relationships illustrate this interdependence more clearly than that between Ethiopia and Sudan. Both are among the region’s most consequential states, and their relations since 2018 have oscillated between peaceful coexistence and mutual distrust.

Somalia’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the U.S. state of West Virginia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Somalia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Dahir Shire Mohamed, signed the agreement on behalf of the Federal Government of Somalia, while Kris Warner, Secretary of the West Virginia Senate, signed on behalf of the U.S. state.