
Somaliland President Visits Israel for First Time Since Recognition
Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi arrived in Israel this week for his first official visit since the Jewish state formally recognized his country’s independence, a milestone in a fast-deepening partnership. Recalling how he had written to the leaders of all 193 United Nations member states on May 17, 2025, asking them to recognize Somaliland, Abdullahi said only one answered. “It was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We then reached the conclusion that Israel would recognize Somaliland,” he said.
A self-governing territory of roughly six million people in the Horn of Africa, Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after the collapse of Somalia’s central government. For more than three decades it has maintained its own government, security forces, elections, and state institutions, yet it has remained unrecognized by most of the international community. That changed on December 26, 2025, when Netanyahu announced that Israel would formally recognize Somaliland, making the Jewish state the first UN member to do so.
Abdullahi, who had quietly visited Israel in October 2025 to advance behind-the-scenes contacts with Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, is now seeking to broaden cooperation across a wide range of fields, including economic development, natural resources, agriculture, water management, and security. Israeli officials say practical collaboration is already underway, particularly in water management, with engineers from Somaliland training in Israel. The president voiced confidence that more nations will follow Israel’s lead, and that ties between the two countries will continue to flourish.
(JPost/VFI News)
“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” – Genesis 12:3