Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi’s trip is an opportunity to move “from declarations to action,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said
Somaliland’s president has made his first visit to Israel, months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government controversially recognized the breakaway territory as an independent state.
Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi was welcomed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday at the start of what officials described as the first state visit by a Somaliland leader to Israel.
Herzog said it was a “great honor” to receive Abdullahi on a visit that “symbolizes the great potential of the new partnership” between the “two countries,” adding that the two sides must now move “from declarations to action.”
Somaliland’s presidency said Abdullahi was received with full state honors and that the two leaders held talks on economic and investment partnerships, innovation, technology, agriculture, and regional security. The Somaliland leader also visited the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Mount Herzl, and the Grove of Nations, where he planted a tree.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Abdullahi thanked West Jerusalem for receiving him and said the people of Somaliland spent decades seeking international recognition.
“They were asking only one question. To see us. Only one country decided to see us,” he said, referring to Israel.
Israel recognized Somaliland as a sovereign state in December, drawing condemnation from Somalia and several African governments. Netanyahu’s office said at the time that the two sides had signed a joint declaration and that the move was made “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.”
#01. The President of the Republic of Somaliland visited Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Mount Herzl, and the Grove of Nations, where he ceremonially planted a tree. pic.twitter.com/nfGtvoABAd
Mogadishu, which considers Somaliland part of its territory, has rejected Israel’s recognition as illegal and a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also condemned Somaliland’s plan to open an embassy in Jerusalem, saying any unilateral action by the breakaway region has no legal effect. Israel remains the only state to recognize Somaliland.
The African Union has also rejected the move, warning that it risks setting a “dangerous precedent” and could undermine peace and stability across the continent.
Somaliland gained independence from the UK in 1960, while Somalia achieved independence from Italy shortly afterwards. The two states were united as the Somali Republic in 1960 until Somaliland proclaimed sovereignty in 1991 following a decade-long civil war. Abdullahi, who took office in December 2024, has made securing international recognition for Somaliland a top priority.
His trip to Israel follows the opening of a new Somaliland representative office in Taipei last Friday, despite objections from Somalia and China. Somaliland’s representative in Taiwan, Mahmoud Adam Jama Galaal, said Beijing and Mogadishu failed to pressure Hargeisa into cutting ties with the island, which he described as a “very important ally.”
“We have the right to choose who we have relationships with. It’s our prerogative,” he said, according to Reuters.
