Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday, January 6, visited Somaliland and said that the country is “not a virtual state like Palestine.”
Saar made the remarks while addressing a joint press conference with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi. “Somaliland is pro-Western and friendly to Israel,” the Foreign Minister said.
According to a report by the Middle East Eye, Saar said that Somaliland and Israel would cooperate on strategic partnerships in the medical, defence, education and water sectors.
He said that Abdirahman has accepted an invitation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make an official visit to Israel. “In the coming months, we’ll bring local professionals from Somaliland’s water sector to Israel for training,” Saar said.
The Israeli Foreign Minister said that his country would also send experts to Somaliland to help implement new capabilities.
Saar is scheduled to visit Berbera, a port that currently hosts an Emirati base and which is being considered by Israel for a similar purpose.
Somalia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli minister’s visit to Somaliland, saying it was a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. On December 26, 2025 Israel became the first country to recognise Somaliland, which was an autonomous region in Somalia and a former British protectorate.
Following the announcement that Somaliland has been recognised by Israel, protests broke out in Somalia. Protestors raised “free Palestine” chants.
In 2017, Somaliland agreed to allow the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to establish a base at the port of Berbera. This port was crucial for the UAE, from which it could fight the Houthis as part of Yemen’s civil war.
Initially, there were reports that the UAE had cancelled its agreement with Somaliland, but recent satellite images reveal advanced infrastructure, including a modern military port, a deep-water dock and a dock capable of receiving large naval vessels.
Berbera is part of a string of UAE bases that form a ring around the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, through which about a third of global shipping passes. The bases have been set up with support from the US and Israel, which is also looking at how it can expand its presence in and around Berbera.
The base on Somaliland’s Gulf of Aden coast has previously been used as a staging post to send Sudanese fighters to Yemen.
In March this year, Somaliland rejected an attempt by Somalia’s central government in Mogadishu to give the US exclusive control of the port and airbase at Berbera.
But, at the end of July, Abdirahman announced that he had changed his mind, saying his administration was prepared to host a US military base at Berbera and offer access to valuable mineral resources, including lithium, as part of a broader strategy to gain international recognition.
