Somalia: Somaliland Leader Meets Israeli Defence Minister As Both Sides Signal Deeper Security Ties
Somaliland's president Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro sat down with Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz in Jerusalem this week, and what came out of the room was striking. Katz confirmed publicly that Israel and Somaliland have been cooperating on a series of undisclosed operations for years, a quiet partnership that neither side had formally acknowledged before.
The Tuesday meeting was centered on expanding that security relationship, with both sides signaling they want to take things further. The specifics of what deeper cooperation might look like were not disclosed, but the very fact that the talks happened at this level speaks to how seriously both governments are treating the relationship.
For Somaliland, a self-declared republic that has spent decades seeking international recognition without success, building high-profile bilateral relationships carries weight beyond security. Every meeting at this level is also a statement about legitimacy. Watch this space.
Originally published by AllAfrica.