Israel has become the first country to formally recognise Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel intended to immediately expand cooperation in agriculture, health, and technology. Somaliland's president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, called the development 'a historic moment'.
Recognition by Israel could encourage other nations to follow suit, increasing the region's diplomatic credentials and access to international markets.
But the decision has been condemned by the foreign ministers of Somalia, Egypt, Turkey, and Djibouti, who in a statement affirmed their 'total rejection' of Israel's announcement.
Abdullahi said in a statement that Somaliland would join the Abraham Accords, in what he called a step toward regional and global peace.
Somaliland was committed to building partnerships, boosting mutual prosperity and promoting stability across the Middle East and Africa, he added.
The two countries had agreed to establish 'full diplomatic ties, which will include the appointment of ambassadors and the opening of embassies', Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement on X.
Meanwhile, Egypt's foreign minister held separate phone calls with his counterparts in Somalia, Turkey, and Djibouti to discuss issues including Israel's declaration. In a statement, Egypt's foreign ministry said the four countries reaffirmed their support for Somalia's unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, warning against unilateral steps that could undermine stability.
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, it has grappled with decades of isolation. With a population of almost six million, the self-proclaimed republic has recently been at the center of several regional disputes involving Somalia, Ethiopia, and Egypt.
