Israel deepens Somaliland ties with first ambassador, testing Horn of Africa balance

Last week, Somaliland, a breakaway region that declared independence from Somalia in 1991, welcomed its first ambassador from Israel.

Diplomat Michael Lotem presented his credentials in Hargeisa, while officials laid the cornerstone for an Israeli embassy. The ceremony, announced by Israel’s foreign ministry on Sunday, formalised a relationship that began with mutual recognition in December.

Somalia, the African Union, Arab states and China strongly oppose the move, reaffirming Somaliland as Somali territory. Beijing has been particularly vocal, viewing recognition as separatism, a breach of its one-China principle and a threat to its naval presence in Djibouti.

Somaliland, whose main port, Berbera, sits just a few hundred kilometres from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow waterway that carries about 10 to 12 per cent of global trade, is now set to shape the balance of tension in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa.