'Somaliland First': The alliance with Israel

Despite the admirable results it has achieved in the territory fully controlled by the Hargeisa government, the international community has ignored Somaliland ever since it shook off the yoke of Mogadishu. The European Union, the United States, China, the African Union and most international actors have so far sided with failed Somalia and consider Somaliland part of the failed state identified by the sky-blue flag with a white star in the center.

No nation in the world, with the exception of Israel, which broke the taboo last December, officially recognizes Somaliland as a state, a move that has concrete negative consequences, though also some positive effects that are more than just symbolic.

First, the lack of recognition excludes Somaliland from international credit and the global banking system. This dramatically undermines Somaliland's ability to attract investment, forcing it to finance nearly everything with its limited domestic resources. But it also forces the government to practice fiscal discipline and keeps the country safe from the public debt trap that has stripped so many nations around the world of their effective sovereignty.

Even without recognition from the international community, the work of successive Somaliland governments has been recognized de facto by the many countries that accept its passports. And above all by the United Arab Emirates, which, along with neighboring Ethiopia, is the state that maintains the closest ties with the government in Hargeisa, thanks to the investment it has made over the past decade in the port of Berbera, in the Gulf of Aden.

"In addition to the unpretentious friendship of a proudly Islamic country, Somaliland offers Israelis an ally in a strategic geographic region of the world."

The transformation of this infrastructure has equipped the port with the capacity to handle hundreds of thousands of containers each year, store oil and become a vital strategic gateway for the import and export of goods in a part of the world dominated by powers hostile to the West, such as China, Iran and Turkey, where Somaliland asserts itself as an active and reliable partner for any constructive actor with an interest in the region.

Returning to electoral politics, Silanyo served as president from 2010 to 2017, when he was peacefully succeeded in 2017—following another election—by President Musa Bihi Abdi, the former SNM military officer who speaks in the documentary about the bombings of Hargeisa. And Musa Bihi Abdi handed over power in the same manner in 2024 to the current president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdulahi, better known by his nickname "Cirro," which means "gray hair."

The top priority of Cirro's presidency is to secure recognition from the international community. In 2025, Cirro wrote letters to every country in the world, offering to establish mutually beneficial relations and asking for recognition. Only Israel responded; in December of that same year, it took the step and is currently the only country in the world that fully recognizes Somaliland as a state.

"For 35 years, the people of Somaliland have built a peaceful, democratic and resilient nation. We asked the world: 'Do you see us?' Israel answered first," was one of Cirro's statements during his visit to Israel this past June.

In addition to the unpretentious friendship of a proudly Islamic country, Somaliland offers Israelis an ally in a strategic geographic region of the world. Somaliland is located in the Horn of Africa. Its coastline on the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean lies directly across from that of Yemen, from where Iran attacks them through its Houthi proxies.

"The benefits of establishing relations with the Jewish state are evident given all the good things Israel has to share."

Aside from setting a precedent, Israel offers Somaliland access to technologies that could be just as crucial to the African country as the Emirati investment in Berbera. These include water management technologies—a scarce resource in Somaliland—and ways to access global financial and payment systems. Israel has already begun training the Somaliland Army and security forces. And the friendship between Jerusalem and Hargeisa will undoubtedly also bring investments and private exchanges of knowledge and ideas that will soon become evident in Somaliland.

The benefits of establishing relations with the Jewish state are evident given all the good things Israel has to share. But the decision to ally with the Jews is far from an obvious choice, given the current general climate of Israelophobia—and especially for an Islamic nation surrounded by more powerful states that make a point of their hostility toward Zionism. And despite all the condemnations from the Arab League, the African Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and many of their most prominent members, Cirro and his administration did what they knew was right without allowing themselves to be intimidated or wavering in their commitment in the slightest.

Because Somaliland opened its embassy in Israel's capital, which is Jerusalem and not Tel Aviv, as many media outlets and all of Israel's allies who are ashamed to admit their support claim. And while visiting Jerusalem, Cirro did not meet only with his Israeli counterpart, Herzog. He also met with Netanyahu, the bane of much of the Islamic world.

"Our policy is 'Somaliland First,'" Cirro said in an interview, paraphrasing Trump. "In more than 30 years, only one country has told us: 'We see you. You exist, and we recognize you.' Should we stand with that country, or with the 57 Muslim countries that refuse to recognize us and say we do not exist? We stand with the country that recognized us. We do not care about their religion."

Cirro added that the Palestinians, "like all peoples," have the right to self-determination. "But I was not elected for Palestine or to speak on its behalf. You elected me to serve Somaliland, seek international recognition and protect Somaliland’s interests," the president emphasized in the interview.

– "The History of Somaliland, the Least Globalist Country in the World (1)"

– "The History of Somaliland, the Least Globalist Country in the World (2)"