Israel becomes first nation to recognize the Republic of Somaliland

Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Israel on Friday became the first U.N. member state to formally recognize the Republic of Somaliland's independence three decades after its creation in the Horn of Africa.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a joint declaration while accompanied by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi on the phone.

"Our friendship is seminal and historic," Netanyahu told Abdullahi. "I'm very, very happy and proud of this day."

He wished Abdullahi and the people of Somaliland the "very, very best" and called the moment a "great opportunity to expand our partnership."

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The prime minister said Israel will work with Somaliland on the fields of economics, agriculture, social development and more.

"We obviously believe in this friendship," Netanyahu said, adding that "there's a lot of excitement here in Israel."

He invited Abdullahi to make an official visit to Israel and said he would transmit to U.S. President Donald Trump Somaliland's desire to join the Abraham Accords.

The Somaliland president called Israel's recognition of the independent republic a "great moment and a great historical day" to the sound of background applause.

He accepted Netanyahu's invitation to make an official visit to Israel and said he would do so soon.

Somaliland is east of Djibouti and Ethiopia and west of Somalia, with the Gulf of Aden to its north.

The republic declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, but no member state of the United Nations had formally recognized it before Israel.

The cabinet of the Somalian government convened an emergency meeting on Friday night to weigh its position on the matter, Al Jazeera reported.

Somalia is a member state of the United Nations and does not recognize Somaliland's independence, which would mean giving up control over a significant part of what many recognize as Somalian territory.

Somalian Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali discussed the matter with the respective foreign ministers of Egypt, Turkey and Djibouti, all of whom said they support Somalia's territorial claims and unity.

Somalia's U.N. membership complicates the matter, and the U.N. charter requires member states to recognize one another's territorial sovereignty.

Recognizing Somaliland as an independent state violates the charter and could set a "dangerous precedent," Egypt's Foreign Ministry said.

"Respect for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states is a fundamental pillar of the stability of the international system and must not be violated or circumvented under any pretext," it said, as reported by Al Jazeera.

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