Image of an ‘island of stability’ that Somaliland wants to promote could be an illusion

The small self-proclaimed state of Somaliland is aiming to become a regional player: it is now an ally of Israel and has commercial and security agreements in the Gulf. Now it’s hoping for US support.

Somaliland at the centre of regional geopolitics

On 15 June Somaliland’s president Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi opened an embassy in Israel with great fanfare. In December 2025 Israel had become the first country in the world to recognise this secessionist entity in northwestern Somalia. During a visit that lasted nearly a week, President Irro (as he is known) met with Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar and was also seen smiling alongside finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, a leading voice on the ethnonationalist far right. He visited the Knesset before meeting Binyamin Netanyahu to sign a declaration of strategic cooperation, whose contents have not been made public.

Somalia still considers Somaliland an integral part of its territory – but it has not had control of the region since 1991, when Somaliland declared independence amid violence after the fall of Mohamed Siad Barre’s regime. Since then the government in Hargeisa, its capital, has sought international recognition on historical grounds. First a British protectorate, then a colony, Somaliland was independent for just a few days in 1960 before merging with Somalia, which had gained independence from Italy.

Somaliland presents itself as an ‘exception’ : it is relatively stable and regularly holds elections, although the government tends towards authoritarianism, cracking down on protests. The government also highlights the territory’s strategic location on the Gulf of Aden.

Establishing official relations with Israel is part of Somaliland’s strategy for breaking out of diplomatic isolation. Hargeisa has support from conservative pro-Israel circles in the US who see Somaliland’s geostrategic value, especially for countering Chinese influence in Africa.

Republican senator Ted Cruz and evangelical Christian Mike Evans – who is close to Netanyahu and founded the Friends of Zion Heritage Center and Museum in Jerusalem – are openly calling for Donald Trump to recognise the country. which Evans calls the ‘Israel of Africa’. In (…)

Full article: 1 951 words.

Brendon Novel

Brendon Novel is a researcher on Africa at the Montreal Centre for International Studies, Université de Montréal.

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