Israeli foreign minister visits Somaliland after contentious recognition of breakaway territory

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The Israeli foreign minister visited Somaliland in the Horn of Africa on Tuesday and promised Israel would foster flourishing ties as the first country to recognize the breakaway republic’s independence from Somalia.

On his first official visit to Somaliland, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel would soon open an embassy and appoint an ambassador, despite broad international criticism over its decision to extend recognition to the territory, which most of the world considers part of Somalia.

“Nobody will determine for Israel who we recognize and who we maintain diplomatic relations with,” Saar said, according to a transcript shared with The Associated Press.

Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi said Tuesday’s visit “carries historic significance and marks and important milestone” for the two countries.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Somaliland’s foreign minister, Abdirahman Dahir Adan, said his country was “very grateful” for Israel’s recognition. He said the countries are natural partners, with both facing hostility from neighboring countries and a shared interest in security in the Red Sea.

“Israel is in a region where many of its neighbors are enemies. And Somaliland is in an area where many of their neighbors are hostile to them,” he said, calling their struggles “very, very similar.”

Adan predicted other nations would follow Israel in recognizing Somaliland in the near future.

The territory lies along a major shipping lane across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen and is home to a port coveted by regional powers including Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates.

Israel’s Dec. 26 decision to become the first country to recognize Somaliland was rejected by the African Union and others. Somalia 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.

Video footage shared on social media purported to show fighter jets flying over Hargeisa, the Somaliland capital, 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 the east African country fragile. Despite having its own government and currency, Somaliland had never before been recognized by any nation.

Somaliland’s Information Ministry said in a post 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’s federal government insists Somaliland remains an integral part of Somali territory and warns that recognition undermines Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

More than 20 mostly Middle Eastern or African countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation rejected Israel’s move, though Ethiopia, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates — all key players in the region — did not.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said in a statement Tuesday that Israeli recognition of Somaliland was a “dangerous precedent that threatens regional and international peace and security.”

U.S. and Israeli officials told The Associated Press 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 U.S. has since abandoned that plan, and the State Department says it continues to recognize the territorial integrity of Somalia, “which includes the territory of Somaliland.”

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AP writers Sam Metz and Josef Federman contributed reporting from Jerusalem.