In his Eid al-Fitr speech, the President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, said that (a) unlike the situation in Somalia, there is peace and stability in Somaliland, (b) Somalilanders deserve respect and congratulations for bringing about that peace and stability, and (c) the leaders of Somalia should learn from their brothers in Somaliland how to establish peace and stability in Somalia. If someone else made these utterances, it would be nothing more than stating the obvious. But coming from Ismail Omar Guelleh who had spent a lot of energy and resources in sabotaging Somaliland for the last seventeen years, these statements take a much larger significance. First, does President Guelleh's Eid statements imply a change in Djibouti 's hostile policy toward Somaliland to a more friendly one. Second, why after 17 years of doing all he could to derail Somaliland's independence is he now suddenly heaping praise on Somaliland ? The answer to the first question is that time will tell if there is genuine change in Djibouti 's policy toward Somaliland or if this is just a Machiavellian gimmick. The answer to the second question probably has to do with the Eritrea-Djibouti war, which has made Djibouti realize how risky and dangerous it is to have bad relations with the country on its southern border (Somaliland), while at the same time being at war with the country on its northern border (Eritrea).

Given the increasing integration of Somaliland into the western security network for the Horn of Africa region, it would not be far-fetched to posit that Western powers, particularly, France , Britain and the US , are quietly nudging Djibouti to improve its relations with Somaliland .

Although the jury is still out on the real meaning of President Guelleh's statements, a clue can be found in whether Somaliland's office in Djibouti is re-opened soon or not.

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