Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar arrived in Somaliland on Tuesday, according to local reports emerging Tuesday. Sa'ar is scheduled to meet with President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi to address a broad range of issues, including tighter diplomatic, security, and economic cooperation. The visit follows Israel's recognition of Somaliland's independence last month, a decision that sparked outrage across Arab nations and in Somalia.
Video: Sa'ar in Somaliland according to local media / Credit: Social media
"A high-level delegation headed by Israeli's Foreign Minister, Hon. Gideon Sa'ar has arrived in Hargeisa, Somaliland's capital on Tuesday amid heightened security in the capital," the Somaliland Standard reported. "Members of Somaliland cabinet ministers and other government officials greeted the delegation upon arrival at Egal Int'l Airport."
Israel has become the first and only nation to officially recognize Somaliland – a republic that declared independence and severed ties with Somalia in 1991 following the collapse of the central government during the civil war under the military rule of Siad Barre. Although Somaliland has maintained relative stability and built independent government institutions for more than three decades, it had previously failed to secure recognition from the international community.
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Reports surfacing last week from security sources in the Gulf and open-source intelligence analyses indicate a significant upgrade in contacts between Jerusalem and Hargeisa (the capital of Somaliland). According to reports in leading defense journals, Israel's need for an effective response to the Houthi threat in the Red Sea has driven advanced discussions regarding the establishment of a "logistics support facility" and a signals intelligence (SIGINT) collection center on Somaliland soil.
Officials familiar with the details noted that this does not involve a classic, large-scale military base, but rather tactical footholds that provide Israel with "eyes and ears" beyond the Bab el-Mandeb (the strategic strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden), a region that has transformed into an active and critical combat zone for Israeli national security.
The primary focus of this activity, according to recent reports, centers on the area between the strategic Berbera Port and the mountain ridges overlooking the Gulf of Aden. Analysts from the International Crisis Group and independent Arab media sources claim the move – which poses a threat to the Houthis – is largely coordinated with Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which view Somaliland as a stable and democratic partner within the volatile Horn of Africa.
On the diplomatic level, reports of the base are serving as a direct catalyst for discussions at the highest echelons in Jerusalem regarding official recognition of Somaliland's sovereignty. Somaliland's leaders likely understand that an Israeli presence on their soil represents the strongest insurance policy against pressure from Somalia and Turkey. Rising regional tensions only reinforce the sense that what began as rumors of secret cooperation is rapidly evolving into an established geopolitical reality on the ground.
