Israel foreign minister says Somaliland recognition a 'moral' decision

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AFP) — Israel’s foreign minister arrived in Somaliland on Tuesday in the first high-profile visit by an Israeli official since the country recognized the breakaway region in the Horn of Africa, the Somaliland presidency said.

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland was a “moral” decision, its foreign minister said Tuesday as he made the first high-profile visit to the region since the historic declaration.

“Israel is truly honored to be the first U.N. member state to recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state. This is the moral thing to do,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.

Israel announced last month it was officially recognizing Somaliland, a first for the self-proclaimed republic that in 1991 declared it had unilaterally separated from Somalia.

“A delegation led by the Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Saar landed at the Hargeisa town, he was received at the airport by senior government officials. He had meetings with the Somaliland top officials,” the presidency said in a statement.

Somaliland, which has for decades sought international recognition, enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden and has its own currency, passport and army.

Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region drew widespread criticism from Africa and Muslim-majority countries, which described the move as an attack on Somali sovereignty.

Somalia on Tuesday condemned the visit.

“Somalia condemns in the strongest terms the unauthorized incursion by the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs into Hargeisa,” the region’s capital, the Somali foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that such a visit without the “explicit consent and authorization of the Federal Government of Somalia is illegal, null and void.”

The European Union has also insisted that Somalia’s sovereignty should be respected.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called the decision a “threat” to the stability in the Horn of Africa.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, he said Somaliland had accepted three conditions from Israel: the resettlement of Palestinians, the establishment of a military base on the Gulf of Aden, and joining the Abraham Accords to normalize ties with Israel.

But Somaliland’s foreign ministry denied the first two conditions.

The breakaway region has been diplomatically isolated since its unilateral declaration of independence, even if it has generally experienced greater stability than Somalia, where Al-Shabaab Islamic militants periodically mount attacks in the capital Mogadishu.

Regional analysts believe that a rapprochement with Somaliland would provide Israel with better access to the Red Sea, enabling it to hit Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Its location alongside one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes has made it a key partner for foreign countries.

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By Agence France-Press