Somalia has condemned Somaliland’s decision to open an embassy in Israel, calling the move illegal and a threat to the country’s sovereignty.
In a statement published on Wednesday, Mogadishu said any unilateral actions by the self-declared breakaway region “carry no legal effect whatsoever, and constitutes an unacceptable provocation to the Arab and Islamic worlds.”
“Somalia strongly condemns the move by the northern west region of Somalia to inaugurate a so-called embassy in Jerusalem,” the Foreign Ministry stated.
The move came after Somaliland’s ambassador to Israel, Mohamed Hagi, announced on X on Tuesday that the territory’s embassy “will be located in Jerusalem” and “opened soon,” while Israel would establish its own embassy in Hargeysa, the region’s capital.
In turn, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomed the development, calling it “another significant step in strengthening relations between our countries and nations,” as quoted by The Times of Israel.
On Monday, Hagi formally presented credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Following the meeting, the diplomat wrote on X that the two sides had held “an official, private, and highly strategic discussion focused on shared interests.”
Somalia’s current political system developed after the collapse of the central government in 1991, when regions began forming their own administrations. In the northwest, Somaliland declared independence in 1991 and operates with its own institutions, though it is not recognized internationally. In the northeast, Puntland declared itself an autonomous region in 1998. Unlike Somaliland, Puntland seeks to be part of a federal Somalia and does not seek full independence.
Last December, Israel became the only country, and still remains such, to have formally recognized Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state.
In February, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi appointed Mohamed Hagi as the territory’s representative to Israel. Two months later, Israel named Michael Lotem, a former ambassador to Kenya, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan, as its non-resident envoy to Somaliland.
Somalia’s federal government condemned the appointment, calling it “a direct breach” of the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The African Union also criticized Israel’s decision to appoint an envoy to Somaliland, reaffirming its support for Somalia’s unity and internationally recognized borders.