Israel’s foreign minister has arrived in Somaliland for the first high-level diplomatic visit since the country became the first in the world to recognise the breakaway region’s independence over a week and a half ago, triggering condemnation and concerns that Palestinians may be forcibly expelled by Israel there.
Gideon Saar landed in the capital Hargeisa on Tuesday and was received by government officials at the airport, according to a statement from Somaliland’s presidency.
He was scheduled to meet President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, with footage circulating online showing the two together.
Somalia’s foreign ministry condemned Saar’s visit as an “unauthorized incursion” into its sovereign territory. The ministry said any official presence or engagement in Somali territory without Mogadishu’s consent was “illegal, null, and void”.
The Israeli visit comes as regional opposition to Israel’s recognition intensifies, with the African Union convening an emergency ministerial session on Tuesday to address the move.
The session, which was not part of the AU Peace and Security Council’s original January agenda, was specially convened following requests from member states.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelaty told the session that Israel’s recognition represented “a blatant violation” of Somalia’s sovereignty and set a dangerous precedent.
In the meantime, Ismail Shirwac, a Somaliland diplomat, described the Saar visit as marking “a defining moment in the deepening relations between two democratic nations operating in a strategically critical region”.
He said the diplomatic partnership was “not only significant, it is irreversible”.
Israel formally recognised Somaliland as an independent state on December 26, marking its second major breakthrough following the establishment of ties with Taiwan in 2020.
