Israel has formally welcomed Dr. Mohamed Haji as the fully accredited Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Somaliland to Israel, the Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.
Israel is set to appoint its own ambassador in the coming weeks.
Israel, in late December, became the first country to recognise the Republic of Somaliland, a northeastern part of Somalia that has claimed independence for decades. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would seek immediate cooperation in agriculture, health, technology, and the economy.
In January, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited Somaliland, saying that because the country has operated for 35 years in accordance with international law, Israel could recognize Somaliland but not the state of Palestine.
“Unlike ‘Palestine,’ Somaliland is not a virtual state,” he said.
Sa’ar made the trip at the invitation of Somaliland’s president, making him the first senior Israeli diplomat to visit the country since Israel recognized it. No other UN members recognize Somaliland.
First Somaliland delegation arrives in Israel
On Monday, Israel welcomed Somaliland’s first official delegation for a visit intended to focus on establishing professional relations, with the main objective of exporting technology from the agricultural and water recycling sectors.
MASHAV, the International Cooperation Center of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, is set to hold a dedicated course for the delegation, which includes the Somaliland Water Authority and the Director General of the Ministry of Water of 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.
Reuters and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.