Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi is an ambitious(有雄心的，有抱负的) man. In December 2024 the 70-year-old former diplomat (pictured), who is better known as Irro, was sworn in as president of Somaliland, a breakaway republic that declared independence from Somalia in 1991.(2024年12月，这位70岁的前外交官宣誓就任索马里兰总统，该共和国于1991年宣布脱离索马里独立。) Last year he was the would-be(想要成为的，准的) country’s leader when Somaliland was formally recognised(承认，认可) by Israel, the first nation to do so. “The world has been ignoring Somaliland for 35 years,” Irro tells The Economist. He wants outsiders to take a closer look.
阿卜迪拉赫曼·穆罕默德·阿卜杜拉希是个雄心勃勃的人。2024年12月，这位70岁的前外交官（如图）宣誓就任索马里兰总统，他更为人熟知的名字是伊罗。索马里兰是一个脱离索马里的共和国，于1991年宣布独立。去年，当索马里兰获得以色列正式承认时，伊罗是这个准国家的领导人，以色列是第一个这样做的国家。“世界忽视索马里兰已有35年，”伊罗对《经济学人》说。他希望外界更仔细地看看这个国家。
Irro’s pitch(推销，游说) centres on the Red Sea. The trade route has been a mess of late(最近，近来), with shipping menaced(威胁，恐吓) by the Houthis, an Iran-backed militia(民兵组织) that rules much of Yemen. Speaking this month during a visit to Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, Irro says Somaliland can help secure the strategic waterway by offering military bases to global powers along its coastline.(本月访问肯尼亚首都内罗毕期间，伊罗表示，索马里兰可以通过向全球大国提供其海岸线上的军事基地来帮助确保这条战略水道的安全。) Once trade can flow unmolested(不受干扰的，畅通无阻的) again, he wants Somaliland’s main port at Berbera to be the primary gateway(门户，通道) to the markets of the Horn of Africa. “Our message is that we are a responsible partner” in security and trade, says Irro.
伊罗的主张围绕红海展开。这条贸易路线近来一片混乱，航运受到胡塞武装的威胁，该组织是一个伊朗支持的民兵组织，控制着也门大部分地区。本月访问肯尼亚首都内罗毕期间，伊罗表示，索马里兰可以通过向全球大国提供其海岸线上的军事基地来帮助确保这条战略水道的安全。一旦贸易能再次畅通无阻，他希望索马里兰在柏培拉的主要港口成为通往非洲之角市场的主要门户。“我们的信息是，我们是安全和贸易方面负责任的伙伴，”伊罗说。
He suggests that Somaliland could, in effect(实际上，事实上), be the new Djibouti. That tiny port-state(港口国家) rakes in(大量赚取，捞进) some $125m a year by renting out(出租) slices of its coastline to foreign armies. America, China and France (among others) have bases there. It also earns many multiples of that amount in annual port fees paid by landlocked Ethiopia, which depends on Djibouti for most of its international trade.(它还从内陆国家埃塞俄比亚支付的年度港口费用中赚取数倍于此的金额，埃塞俄比亚的大部分国际贸易都依赖吉布提。)
他暗示，索马里兰实际上可以成为新的吉布提。这个小小的港口国家每年通过向外国军队出租其海岸线的一部分，进账约1.25亿美元。美国、中国和法国（以及其他国家）都在那里设有基地。它还从内陆国家埃塞俄比亚支付的年度港口费用中赚取数倍于此的金额，埃塞俄比亚的大部分国际贸易都依赖吉布提。