The Organization of Islamic Cooperation will hold an emergency meeting of foreign ministers in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, focusing on developments in Somalia following Israel’s recognition of Somaliland’s independence, the group said.
The move comes after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar met Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi this week in Hargeisa, a visit strongly condemned by OIC Secretary-General Hussein Ibrahim Taha. It was Saar’s first trip since Israel last month became the first country to recognize the breakaway region.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not been recognized by Mogadishu or the wider international community. Somalia considers Somaliland part of its territory and described Saar’s visit as an “unacceptable interference” in its internal affairs.
Saar said Israel was determined to advance relations with Somaliland “with momentum,” while Abdullahi said the visit was the first by a foreign minister in more than 30 years and praised Israel’s recognition as a “courageous decision” aimed at promoting “cooperation and stability.”
Saar wrote on X that his talks with Abdullahi covered “the entirety of our relations,” adding that Israel’s decision was not directed “against anyone.”
“Nobody will determine for Israel who we recognise and who we maintain diplomatic relations with,” Saar said.
He added that Abdullahi had accepted an invitation from Netanyahu to visit Israel, though Somaliland’s presidency did not confirm this.
Israel’s recognition has already prompted an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council and drew criticism from more than 20 countries including China, Turkey, the African Union and the European Union, which said Somalia’s sovereignty must be respected. The United States, however, defended Israel, accusing critics of applying double standards.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told the African Union Peace and Security Council on Tuesday that the recognition is a “flagrant violation” of Somalia’s sovereignty and a “dangerous precedent that threatens regional and international security.”
Egypt, Abdelatty said, rejects unilateral measures that threaten stability or seek to create a new political reality outside internationally recognized legal frameworks.
Abdullahi has previously said Somaliland will join the Abraham Accords, an agreement brokered by the Trump administration in 2020, under which several Arab states normalized relations with Israel.
According to the BBC, Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies justified the recognition in a research paper issued last month. Referring to Iran-backed Yemeni rebels, it said, “Israel needs allies in the Red Sea region for many strategic reasons, including the possibility of launching a future campaign against the Houthis.”
The Houthi group has threatened to target any Israeli presence in Somaliland, calling it a “legitimate military target.” On Wednesday, Yemen’s Sanaa-based deputy foreign minister Abdulwahid Abu Ras condemned Saar’s visit to Hargeisa, and reiterated what he called Yemen’s firm support for the Somali people and Somalia’s security and stability.
Why is Somaliland strategically important?
Israel’s recognition came as tensions rise in the Horn of Africa, and could deepen a diplomatic crisis with implications for Red Sea security and international shipping.
The move also comes as relations between Egypt and Ethiopia remain strained over Addis Ababa’s construction and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam without consultation or coordination with downstream countries Egypt and Sudan.
Somaliland occupies a strategic position at the junction of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. The port of Berbera provides access to some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Analysts told Reuters that countering the Houthis is part of Israel’s move and could lead to military cooperation. Somaliland has denied that recognition would allow Israel to establish military bases there, though a senior official on Wednesday declined to rule out such a possibility.
Somaliland also rejected accusations that, in exchange for recognition by Israel, it would resettle Palestinians from Gaza.
Regional rivalries deepen in the Horn of Africa
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland comes amid broader regional tensions, including strained relations between Egypt and Ethiopia over Addis Ababa’s construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country and landlocked since Eritrea’s independence, announced in 2024 a memorandum of understanding to lease land near the port of Berbera in exchange for recognizing Somaliland, triggering a sharp reaction from Somalia.
That dispute pushed Mogadishu closer to Egypt and Eritrea, long-standing rivals of Ethiopia. Although talks mediated by Turkey led Ethiopia in December 2024 to agree to work with Somalia to resolve the issue, speculation persists that Addis Ababa may still move to recognize Somaliland.
The United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020, runs Berbera port and airport through Dubai-owned DP World, while Turkey maintains a strong presence in Somalia, training security forces and providing development assistance.
Turkey, once a foe and now a partner of Egypt, also has close ties with Ethiopia and Somalia. It trains Somali security forces and provides development assistance in exchange for a foothold along a major shipping route.
India denied reports it was preparing to recognize Somaliland, although some analysts say it should do so to counter China’s economic influence in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Djibouti, and in Kenya and Tanzania.
