Israel becomes first country to officially recognise Somaliland Submitted by Rayhan Uddin on Fri, 12/26/2025 - 14:34 Netanyahu announces recognition of breakaway region, inviting Somaliland president on official visit to Israel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on a video call with Somaliland's president, as he signs a declaration recognising Somaliland as a state (X/Israeli PM office) Off Israel has officially recognised the breakaway region of Somaliland as a sovereign state, becoming the first country to do so. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, announced on Friday that alongside Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, and Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, the Somaliland president, he had signed a mutual declaration. The declaration states that Israel recognises Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state. Somaliland has been part of the unified Somali republic since 1960, but in 1991 declared independence and established a de-facto state. Though it has had unofficial diplomatic relations with a number of countries, its sovereignty had not been recognised by any permanent UN member states until Friday. The Israeli prime minister’s office said the declaration was “in the spirit” of the Abraham Accords, the normalisation agreements signed between Israel and a number of Arab states in 2020. In a video posted on social media, Netanyahu announced the recognition with a video call with Abdullahi. “Our friendship is seminal and historic. So I'm very, very happy and I'm very proud of this day,” the prime minister says. “I think this will be a great opportunity for expanding our partnership. We intend to work together with you on economic fields, on agriculture, and the fields of social development.” He then extended an invite to the president for an official visit to Israel. “Of course I'll communicate to President Trump your willingness and desire to join the Abraham Accords,” Netanyahu added. Abdullahi responded by saying it was a historic day, and that he accepted the invitation. “I will be glad to be in Jerusalem as soon as possible,” the Somaliland president told Netanyahu. Diplomacy News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0