Hargeisa (Somalia Today) — Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar arrived in Hargeisa on Tuesday for talks with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Irro), in the first official diplomatic visit since Israel recognised Somalia’s breakaway region as an independent state.
In a message posted during the trip, Sa’ar said the visit sent a clear signal that Israel intends to deepen ties with Somaliland, and that the two sides held “substantive discussions” spanning their relationship.
“The mutual recognition and establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries are not directed against anyone,” Sa’ar wrote, adding that Israel alone would decide whom it recognises and with whom it maintains diplomatic relations.
Somaliland’s presidency said Irro received Sa’ar and a delegation at the presidential palace, calling Israel’s decision to recognise Somaliland a major diplomatic step with political and economic implications.
In the presidency readout, Irro thanked Israel for what it described as a “courageous” move and said it could open opportunities in investment, trade, technology, energy, water, mining, agriculture and infrastructure.
Sa’ar also said Irro accepted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s invitation for an official visit to Israel, a step that would formalise the relationship Israel said it opened with its recognition.
Somalia’s federal government did not immediately comment on Sa’ar’s visit or Israel’s recognition. Somalia has long rejected Somaliland’s secession and considers the region part of Somalia’s internationally recognised territory.
Recognition backlash
Israel announced its recognition of Somaliland in late December, saying it would establish diplomatic relations in an official statement.
Somaliland has said it intends to join the Abraham Accords, the normalisation framework launched in 2020 under US mediation that saw several Gulf states establish ties with Israel.
It has also denied that Israel’s recognition involves any plan to establish Israeli military bases on its territory or to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, Reuters reported.
Somaliland declared independence in 1991 after Somalia’s central government collapsed. It has built its own institutions, currency and security forces, and has held elections, but has not secured broad international recognition.
Meanwhile, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council met at ministerial level on Tuesday, condemned Israel’s recognition, and called on Israel to revoke it.
In an AU PSC statement, the council said no actor has the authority or legal standing to alter the territorial configuration of an AU member state, and said a formal communiqué would follow.
Somaliland sits on the Gulf of Aden, a strategic corridor linking the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, giving the territory an outsized geopolitical profile despite its disputed status.
