Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Somaliland on Tuesday and promised that Israel would work to expand ties, after the country became the first to recognize the breakaway region’s independence from Somalia. Saar, during his first official trip to Somaliland, said Israel would soon open an embassy there and appoint an ambassador.
In remarks described as delivered during the visit, Saar said, “Nobody will determine for Israel who we recognize and who we maintain diplomatic relations with,” according to a transcript shared with The Associated Press. The trip drew attention because recognition of Somaliland by Israel has faced broad international criticism.
Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi said the visit “carries historic significance and marks and important milestone” for the two countries. In an interview with AP, Somaliland foreign minister Abdirahman Dahir Adan said his country was “very grateful” for Israel’s recognition and called the two places “natural partners,” citing what he said was shared hostility from neighboring countries and interest in security in the Red Sea.
Adan said Israel is in “a region where many of its neighbors are enemies,” and that Somaliland is “in an area where many of their neighbors are hostile to them.” He said the struggles were “very, very similar,” and predicted other nations would follow Israel in recognizing Somaliland in the near future.
Somaliland’s Information Ministry said on X that Saar and his delegation were received by senior members of the Somaliland Cabinet when they landed at the airport in Hargeisa, the capital. The ministry described the visit as a milestone in bilateral relations.
Somalia has rejected the decision that led to the visit. The Somali federal government insists Somaliland remains an integral part of Somali territory and warned that recognition undermines Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also said Tuesday that it “condemns in the strongest terms the unauthorized incursion,” describing Saar’s visit to Somaliland as “an unacceptable interference in the internal affairs” of Somalia.
Israel’s Dec. 26 decision to become the first country to recognize Somaliland was rejected by the African Union and others. The dispute has also drawn reactions beyond the region, with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty saying in a statement that Israeli recognition of Somaliland was a “dangerous precedent that threatens regional and international peace and security.”
The AP report said more than 20 mostly Middle Eastern or African countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation rejected Israel’s move, while Ethiopia, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates did not. The report said Somaliland lies along a major shipping lane across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, and that it is home to a port coveted by regional powers including Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates.
The visit also took place amid uncertainty over visuals circulated online. The report said video footage shared on social media purported to show fighter jets flying over Hargeisa during Saar’s visit, but it was not immediately clear which country the aircraft belonged to.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 during a descent into conflict that continues to leave Somalia fragile. Although Somaliland has had its own government and currency, it had not been recognized by any nation before Israel.
The AP report also said U.S. and Israeli officials told AP last year that Israel had approached Somaliland about taking in Palestinians from Gaza as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan at the time to resettle the territory’s population. Adan said on Tuesday that such a proposal had neither been discussed nor considered.
The report said the U.S. abandoned that plan. It cited the State Department as saying it continues to recognize the territorial integrity of Somalia, “which includes the territory of Somaliland.”
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