Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar defended Israel's controversial decision to become the first country to recognize Somaliland as an independent state as “morally correct” during his visit to the Horn of Africa on Tuesday.
Israel made the decision at the end of December to be condemned by other countries in the region. Somaliland, with its capital at Hargeisa in northern Somalia, has been effectively independent from Somalia for more than three decades.
Sa'ar said no one will determine the countries that Israel recognizes as states. According to his office, Somaliland was a “functioning state” and a “stable democracy,” he said.
According to information, mutual embassies will soon be opened, and Israel has invited Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi to visit.
Speaking in Hargeisa, Saar criticized the recognition of a Palestinian state by many countries. Unlike Palestine, Somaliland was not an explicit state, Sa'ar said without further explanation.
Mogadishu reacted sharply to Saar's visit to Hargeisa. Somalia's Foreign Ministry said Somaliland is an “integral and indivisible part” of Somalia.
Sa'ar's visit represents a serious violation of Somalia's sovereignty and political unity and unacceptable interference in the country's internal affairs, the statement said.
Somaliland has long called for international recognition.
