A social media post, containing an article by one 'Inside Africa,' has alleged that India may be the 'next nation' to officially acknowledge Somaliland, the secessionist region of Somalia, as an independent state.
The article claimed that India was contemplating the action to enhance strategic power in the Western Indian Ocean and counterbalance China.
It also noted, "India values Somaliland’s Berbera port and access to Ethiopia, a priority long promoted by Indian policy strategists." (sic.)
This post gathered 54.6K views at the time of writing this story. (Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)
Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false as India has made no such official statements.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has debunked this viral claim calling it 'misleading.'
What we found: At first, we ran a relevant keyword search to find whether India had made any such statements however, we did not find any credible reports to prove the claim.
Team WebQoof also went through the Press Information Bureau (PIB) and the MEA's websites to check for latest press notes. However, there were no statements which proved the validity of the claim.
We, then, checked MEA's fact-check page on X and found their clarification, regarding the viral claim from 29 December 2025.
It noted, "The following post in misleading. Please remain alert!" (sic.)
Some context: In late December 2025, Israel became the first United Nations member to formally recognise Somaliland, the self-declared republic that broke away from Somalia in 1991, signing a declaration to establish diplomatic relations.
Sharp criticisms have poured in from Somalia and several countries and blocs, including Turkey, Egypt, the African Union, the Arab League and China, who called it a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and international law, reported the New York Times.
Conclusion: The viral claim is false as India has made no statements to recognise Somaliland as an independent country.
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