Israel recognizes Somaliland as independent state, says Netanyahu

Israel has become the first country to officially recognize Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel intends to immediately expand cooperation in agriculture, health and technology. Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi called the development a “historic moment.”

Recognition by Israel could encourage other countries to follow suit, thereby increasing the region’s diplomatic credentials and access to international markets.

But this decision was condemned by the foreign ministers of Somalia, Egypt, Turkey and Djibouti, who affirmed in a statement their “total rejection” of Israel’s announcement.

Abdullahi said in a statement that Somaliland would join the Abraham Accordsin what he called a step towards regional and global peace.

Somaliland is committed to building partnerships, enhancing mutual prosperity and promoting stability in the Middle East and Africa, he added.

The two countries agreed to establish “full diplomatic relations, which will include the appointment of ambassadors and the opening of embassies,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said. said in a statement the.

“I have asked my ministry to act immediately to institutionalize ties between the two countries in a wide range of areas,” he said.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s foreign minister held separate phone calls with his counterparts from Somalia, Turkey and Djibouti to discuss issues including Israel’s statement.

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the four countries reaffirmed their support for Somalia’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and warned against unilateral measures that could undermine stability or create what they called “parallel entities” to Somali state institutions.

They also argued that recognizing the independence of parts of sovereign states would set a dangerous precedent under international law and the United Nations Charter.

The statement added that the ministers reiterated their rejection of any plans to displace Palestinians from their homeland.

Israel has tried for years to strengthen its relations with countries in the Middle East and Africa, but recent wars, notably in Gaza and against Iran, have been seen as an obstacle to democracy.

Historical offers struck at the end of Trump’s first term in 2020known as the Abraham Accords, saw several countries, including the Muslim-majority United Arab Emirates and Morocco, normalize relations with Israel, with other countries joining later.

Somaliland enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden and has its own money, passports and police force. Born in 1991 after a war of independence against former dictator General Siad Barre, he has since struggled with decades of isolation.

With a population of nearly six million, the self-proclaimed republic has recently been at the center of several regional conflicts involving Somalia, Ethiopia and Egypt.

Last year, an agreement between landlocked Ethiopia and Somaliland The rental of part of the coastline for a port and a military base has angered Somalia.