Israel on Friday became the first country to recognize Somaliland as an independent state — an unprecedented move regarding the breakaway region above Somalia.
“The State of Israel plans to immediately expand its relations with the Republic of Somaliland through extensive cooperation in the fields of agriculture, health, technology, and economy,” Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote in a statement on the social platform X.
The prime minister said the move was in line with the Abraham Accords brokered by President Trump during his first administration to establish diplomatic and security ties between Israel and Arab nations.
Somaliland leaders have been pushing for sovereignty since 1991, when it broke away from Somalia but failed to gain recognition from United Nations members.
Netanyahu has said the recognition will aid Israel in “fighting terrorism and advancing regional peace” by providing a space to monitor the Houthis, a militant group active in Yemen.
Yemen and Somaliland are separated by the Gulf of Aden, which provides an accessible waterway for refugees fleeing attacks in the North.
While Israel’s new ties to the African leaders was lauded by Netanyahu, foreign leaders in Turkey and Egypt decried the independent state recognition.
“This initiative by Israel, which aligns with its expansionist policy and its efforts to do everything to prevent the recognition of a Palestinian state, constitutes overt interference in Somalia’s domestic affairs,” officials from Turkey and Egypt said in a statement obtained by The Guardian.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Israel’s decision was a “grave breach of Somalia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national unity, in flagrant violation of the principles of international law.”
“Somalia’s unity, sovereignty, and internationally recognized borders are non-negotiable. Any act or arrangement that undermines these principles constitutes a direct threat to national cohesion and regional stability and will only deepen division,” he added in a statement posted to X.
“We categorically reject any action or any country that attempts to undermine the unity, sovereignty, and internationally recognized borders of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” he added.
