Overview
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi signed a joint declaration of mutual recognition, making Israel the first country to formally recognize Somaliland.
- Israel and Somaliland will open embassies and appoint ambassadors, with Israel pledging rapid cooperation in agriculture, health, technology and the economy and inviting Abdullahi to visit.
- Somaliland welcomed the move and said it intends to join the Abraham Accords, framing the decision as a step toward regional peace and economic partnership.
- Somalia, Egypt, Turkey and Djibouti condemned the recognition, and the African Union rejected it as a threat to Somalia’s unity and a potentially destabilizing precedent.
- Analysts cited Red Sea security and proximity to Yemen as strategic factors in Israel’s decision, while the wider international response remains uncertain, with the United States signaling no immediate recognition.