Israel fetes Somaliland’s leader as it seeks to expand Red Sea influence
Key takeaways
- Six months after recognition, Israel and Somaliland say they are moving from symbolism to strategic cooperation
- xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Israel's President Isaac Herzog and Somaliland's President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi in Jerusalem.
- “I am here as the president of Somaliland for the first state visit ever,” Abdullahi told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting. “For 35 years we have been asking the world to see us.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Six months after recognition, Israel and Somaliland say they are moving from symbolism to strategic cooperation
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Israel's President Isaac Herzog and Somaliland's President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi in Jerusalem. [File: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters]By Faisal Ali Published On 20 Jun 202620 Jun 2026Mogadishu, Somalia – Israel rolled out a lavish state welcome for Somaliland’s president in Jerusalem, extending honours rarely accorded to the leader of a territory still unrecognised by any country other than Israel.
President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as Cirro, arrived last Sunday for the first state visit by a Somaliland leader, six months after Israel became the first country to recognise the breakaway region’s independence from Somalia.