First Israeli ambassador for Somaliland

Israel’s first ambassador to Somaliland has presented his credentials to the breakaway territory’s President, who formally accepted them at a ceremony in Hargeisa, where officials also laid the cornerstone for an Israeli embassy, reports Al Jazeera. Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced the ceremonies on Sunday, saying they were held last week. The move puts into practice an agreement reached on 26 December 2025, when Israel became the first UN member state to recognise Somaliland which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but remains claimed by Mogadishu. Describing it as a ‘historical day’, President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as Cirro, said it was the first time a Somaliland President had received the credentials of an ambassador from a UN member state recognising its independence. Ambassador Michael Lotem said Israel’s recognition acknowledged what Somaliland had built over 35 years, rather than serving as a mere diplomatic formality. Somaliland has governed itself for more than three decades, but remains without recognition from any other UN member state.