In an exclusive interview with i24NEWS on Wednesday, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi said he could not rule out the possibility of an Israeli military base on Somaliland soil in the future while announcing that direct flights between Israel and the capital Hargeisa would begin “very soon.”
Speaking to i24NEWS’s Middle East Now anchor and correspondent Nicole Zedeck during his historic first public state visit to Israel, Abdullahi said the opening of Somaliland’s first-ever embassy in Jerusalem was a natural extension of the two sides’ relationship. “Normally, embassies are opened in the capitals of individual countries that recognize each other,” he said, adding that Israel was the only country to respond to a letter he sent to 193 nations in May 2025, requesting recognition.
Abdullahi was keen to push back on the characterization of Somaliland as a breakaway region, noting that his administration declared independence on June 26, 1960, five days before Somalia, making it older than Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Eritrea, and roughly half the countries on the African continent. “We are not breakaway,” he said. “We became a sovereign country on 26 June, 1960.”
On what Israel brings to the relationship beyond recognition, Abdullahi pointed to agriculture, water, health, and security cooperation as immediate priorities and revealed that eight Somaliland children with heart conditions would be receiving medical treatment in Israel that week. He also said Somaliland’s strategically located Berbera Port, a gateway to Ethiopia and landlocked African nations, was attracting growing interest from the US, UAE, Israel, and others as a regional trade and logistics hub.
Asked whether Somaliland could play a role in combating Houthi threats in the Red Sea, Abdullahi said Somaliland was not an enemy to anyone but had the right to defend itself, and was seeking international assistance to upgrade the capabilities of its coastal guard forces.
Abdullahi said more countries would follow Israel in recognizing Somaliland, though he declined to name them or give a firm timeline, saying only that recognition “can be soon.” His message to countries still withholding recognition was pointed: “Please join before it is too late. Who comes first will have the best opportunity.”
