The first official delegation from Somaliland arrived in Israel on Monday for a visit, following Israel's recognition of Somaliland as an independent state from Somalia in December 2025.
The delegation is expected to focus on establishing professional relations, with the main objective of exporting technology from the agricultural and water recycling sectors.
The Somaliland delegation visited the National Center for Water Education and Innovation at the Shafdan wastewater treatment complex in Rishon LeZion, which houses advanced laboratories, training rooms, and co-working spaces where academics, engineers, and start-ups can test new approaches to water recycling, climate-resilience, and energy efficiency.
Water as a key diplomatic link with Somaliland
For Somaliland, a country of approximately 6.2 million inhabitants in the Horn of Africa, water management is a major challenge in its development, with drinking water shortages, frequent droughts, high reliance on groundwater, limited advanced monitoring systems, and significant water losses in municipal networks.
The delegation was headed by the Director General of the Somaliland Water Ministry, Aden Abdullah Abdullah, and included the ministry's Chief Engineer, Omar Ahmed Ibrahim, as well as other senior officials from the Somaliland government and the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The visit was intended to present decision-makers in Somaliland with solutions developed in Israel to address water shortages and manage a complex water economy under climate change and other environmental challenges.
Along with exposure to the planning, operation, and treatment systems for water and wastewater, options for future cooperation, professional training, and the development of water infrastructure in the country are also being examined, including brackish water desalination plants, systems for monitoring and managing water sources, and solutions for reducing water losses in municipal networks.