Somalian President: Israel’s Recognition of Somaliland a ‘Threat’ to Regional Stability

Amid wave of condemnations of Israeli move, Taiwan welcomes decision, calling Jerusalem, Taipei and Hargeisa ‘like-minded democratic partners’

By AFP and ToI Staff

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud speaks during the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 25, 2025. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland as a state “is [a] threat to the security and stability of the world and the region,” Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told an emergency parliamentary session Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Friday announcement, making his country the first to recognize Somaliland, “is tantamount to a blunt aggression against the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and the unity of the people of the Somali Republic,” Mohamud said.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has for decades pushed for international recognition. A self-proclaimed republic, it enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden and has its own money, passports and army. But it has been diplomatically isolated since its unilateral declaration of independence.

Somalia’s government and the African Union reacted angrily on Friday after Israel’s announcement.

Mogadishu denounced Israel’s announcement as a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty, while Egypt, Turkey, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation all condemned the decision.

The EU also criticized the move, and the United States said that it continued to recognize the territorial integrity of Somalia, “which includes the territory of Somaliland.”

But Taiwan — itself a disputed territory whose independence is largely not recognized internationally — welcomed the Israeli decision on Sunday.

In a statement, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said that Israel, Somaliland and Taiwan are all “like-minded democratic partners sharing the values of democracy, freedom, and rule of law,” according to the Focus Taiwan news site.

Israel enjoys friendly relations with Taipei and strong trade ties, though the relationship is largely informal due to Israel’s diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China, which rejects Taiwan’s independence and claims the territory as its own.

According to Focus Taiwan, Taipei and Somaliland have fostered bilateral relations for several years, and in 2020 opened reciprocal representative offices in each other’s capitals.

Israel, increasingly diplomatically isolated over the past two years amid its grueling war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, has also reportedly been growing closer to Taiwan.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu made a recent secret visit to Israel at a time when Taiwan is looking to Jerusalem for defense cooperation.

Speaking to reporters in November, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said that “of course, in terms of technology and defense there is mutual learning and some interactions” between Taiwan and Israel.

The United Nations Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the Israeli recognition of Somaliland, acceding to a demand by Somalia, which is set to take over the presidency of the UNSC on January 1.