Welsh Somalilanders celebrate Israel’s official recognition of their country
Martin Shipton
Members of Wales’ 15,000-strong Somaliland community are celebrating after the breakaway country received formal recognition of its independence from Israel – the first nation in the world to do so.
The former British protectorate joined a federation with the former Italian colony of Somalia in 1960, but reverted to a stand-alone country more than 30 years ago after fighting a brutal civil war with the Somali dictator Siad Barre.
Yet despite impressing many observers by its commitment to the establishment of democratic structures, and a succession of peaceful transitions of power following elections, Somaliland has failed to gain international recognition.
Meanwhile Somalia – which does have such recognition – is a failed state largely run by a jihadist group known as Al-Shabaab.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gidon Sa’ar posted a message on X on December 26 stating: “I was glad to speak just now with the President of Somaliland Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, on this important day for both countries.
“Over the past year, based on an extensive and ongoing dialogue, relations between Israel and Somaliland have taken shape. Following the decision of @IsraeliPM Benjamin Netanyahu and the President of Somaliland Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, today we signed an agreement on mutual recognition and the establishment of full diplomatic relations, which will include the appointment of ambassadors and the opening of embassies.
“We will work together to promote the relations between our countries and nations, regional stability and economic prosperity. I have instructed my ministry to act immediately to institutionalize ties between the two countries across a wide range of fields.”
Israeli analysts have said recognition of the breakaway state could be in Israel’s strategic interest, given Somaliland’s proximity to Yemen, where Israel has conducted extensive airstrikes against the Houthi rebels over the past two years.
Lifeline
Professor Eid Ali Ahmed, a former deputy chief executive of the Welsh Refugee Council who lives in Cardiff and is an adviser to the Somaliland government, said: “This recognition is a lifeline for the people of Somaliland, with many opportunities.
“At present there are business links with Israel, but we can expect more, particularly in the development of agriculture and fisheries in Somaliland which could be exported to the Arabian Gulf.
“We believe more countries will now officially recognise Somaliland, particularly the USA, the UK and the United Arab Emirates.”
Asked how Somalilanders felt about getting support from Israel at a time when Israeli forces have killed so many fellow Muslims in Palestine, Prof Ahmed said: “Like other Muslims in different countries, Somalilanders are against Israel killing Palestinians and have sent money for relief. By this recognition Somaliland could help peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”
Cardiff docks
People from Somaliland first settled in Wales in 1870, working in Cardiff docks. Earlier this year Westminster’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Somaliland published a report calling on the UK to formally recognise the territory as an independent state.
The report said: “2025 marks 34 years since Somaliland reestablished its independence from Somalia, which is longer than it was united with Somalia for. Much has changed since 1991.
“Somaliland has risen from the ashes of civil war and genocide, transforming itself into one of the most stable and democratic nations in Africa. Meanwhile, the Horn Of Africa has become more important than ever, and Britain’s rivals are gaining influence across the African continent.
“Britain must adapt to this changing world and reposition itself by recognising Somaliland. The arguments for recognising Somaliland originate from many different schools of thought ranging from the pragmatic acknowledgment of the region’s strategic importance to a more idealistic belief in the defence of democracy.
“In other words, the case for recognising Somaliland makes sense whichever way you look at it – economically, strategically, or morally. Moreover, in an age where the electorate is becoming increasingly critical of foreign spending and diplomacy is becoming more overtly transactional, recognising Somaliland is a policy that would provide a good return on investment.
“Indeed, it is no coincidence that the Trump administration, with its ruthless cuts to government expenditure at home and abroad, is still considering greater engagement with Somaliland.”
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Hopefully the zionist government will find a similar strategic interest in recognising Palestine.
No need. Got them just where they want them. Once Hamas disarms and they are all in jail then maybe discussions about the first ever Palestinian state can commence.
All I recognise from Israel is their systematic invasion, persecution and destruction of the state of Palestine. There is the Hamas problem but we need to remember that Israel itself was created to quell the demands of Jewish terrorists.
Until Israel recognises the state of Palestine the world should refuse to recognise Israel as a state.
Israel is a recognised, successful, democratic state and has been for decades, despite numerous attempts to destroy it.
Hamas was essentially supported by Netanyahu as he permitted Qatar to fund Hamas despite their stated pledge to destroy zion. The great evil zionist leader wanted Hamas there to reduce Abbas’ power across the 2 palestinian prison camps. Now he has sent his militia into Ghazza to apparently seek and destroy any one who still opposes him so Hamas will still be alright.
Recognised for successfully invading the Palestine West Bank, its illegal occupation with an extreme form of Apartheid that brings so much hatred and violence back on all Jewish people.
Only recognized by countries they control.E.g The USA is just a province of Israel and nothing more.When Israel says jump the USA and their allies ask how high.
If all UN states had recognised Israel from the start as they did with the new Islamic state of Pakistan it’s likely that Palestinian Israelis would be living peacefully and prosperously in the region today. It’s those that claimed to support Palestinians over the last 80 years that have caused them the most harm.
From the outset, Israel has been a settler-colonial state founded on terrorism and violent ethnic cleansing, now culminating in genocide.
Absolutely correct.
Pakistan was formed under very similar circumstances yet they don’t have 32 UN nations denying their existence or demanding the land is returned to India.
Exactly.
The aftermath of the British raj has left many unresolved problems, but the creation of Pakistan was a consequence of the end of colonial rule not its continuation as was the formation of the Israeli state. The cases are not comparable.
Nonsense, Pakistan was created before the formal end of British rule and would never have happened after Indian independence. Ghandi strongly opposed partition.
The only significant difference is one is an Islamic state and one a Jewish state.
Everyone opposed to one out of principle should be opposed to both.
You lost the argument when you said “nonsense”.
For Palestine to be formed similar to Pakistan, your beloved zion will need to sacrifice 1/3rd of its land to the Palestinians.
The point is about the creations of Israel and Pakistan. They are either both legitimate or both are not. Anyone who opposes or supports just one of the two has some explaining to do.
There are not similar creations. You need to go read up on history.
Pakistan was a country created by partition.
Zion is a country created by expulsion of semitic Palestinians without any partition.
Some are allowed to vote, but majority of semitic Palestinians are effectively refugees within the confines of the now destroyed Ghazza and the ‘being decimated and settled into as we speak’ West Bank.
Both were created by partition.
No, both were not created with partition. Only Pakistan. Zion created from expulsion of semitic Palestinians and land grab. .The borders of Pakistan do not include any concentration camps where refugees stay and have no democratic rights in Pakistan and Pakistani forces go in and ethnically cleanse them at will.
At least 12 million were displaced and one million died to create Pakistan.
Imagine how different the region would be today if regional powers had refused to recognise the state and a global campaign to eliminate Pakistan continued to this day, supported by some with no connection to the region simply because a campaign to abolish Pakistan was a handy way to express their Islamophobia.
Imagine how Pakistani citizens and government might react to that scenario.
My imagination can run as far and as dark as I want but your analogy is still wrong.
12 million displaced, mainly Hindus and Sikhs, mostly forcibly and mostly uncompensated, and one million dead is a legitimate grievance is it not?
India and Pakistan both became independent states at the the stroke of midnight between 14 and 15 August 1947. Pakistan has chosen the 14th as its independence day, India 15th but state creation was simultaneous. Gandhi did indeed oppose separation but the Raj had employed divide-and-rule for decades. If you want to see a parallel between the birth of Pakistan and that of Israel, it rests in the arrogant belief of the British imperial state that it had the right to dispose of land and people as it chose. The opposition to Israel is not about religion but about its… Read more »
The legitimacy of a state is a totally separate topic to how that state is run.
Wrong. The legitimacy of a state always depends on how it is run and the consequences of that for both its own people and others.
History is full of examples of states that lost legitimacy through their behaviour. Post-war decolonisation, the collapse of empires following the First World War, the breakup of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, and many more. The legitimacy of the UK as a unified state is questioned by many who believe it is not run in their interests.
Whatever dubious legitimacy Israel might have possessed at its foundation it has since steadily and now rapidly lost.
Mr Putin is using the “badly run” narrative to justify annexing Ukraine. Is he right?
Ukraine is indeed badly run as its corruption scandals show. It’s very doubtful that Putin intends to annex the whole of Ukraine, if only because of the cost to Russia of attempting to subdue it. Putin knows full well what happened to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was unjustified and has resulted in immense costs to both sides. But the primary cause of instability in Europe over recent decades has been NATO’s expansion, advancing towards Moscow by several hundred miles. It is doubtful if any Russian leader would tolerate NATO troops in Ukraine.
The right answer is Ukraine is a sovereign state and it’s none of Mr Putin’s business how it’s run.
In today’s world, sovereignty is relative. How a state is run can affect not just its own people but also its neighbours and beyond. How Trump runs the US matters to the entire world.
Trump is a disaster but he doesn’t justify breaking the USA up.
I didn’t suggest it was, just challenging your view that what a state does should never be questioned by outsiders.
State boundaries are not immutable. Many nation.cymru readers would like to break up the UK.
Change from within is very different to external change. If California decided Trump was the last straw and democratically decided to become independent that’s very very different to Mexico deciding it’s going to take California back.
What if a Californian majority decided that it wanted to join Mexico rather than becoming independent?
This example sounds far fetched but the presence of Russian minorities in post-Soviet states has been a substantial issue. Discrimination against those minorities (as has happened in Ukraine) has provided Putin with a pretext for interventions. NATO powers have never called out that discrimination, instead accentuating divisions for their own purposes.
Absolutely they should join Mexico in that example. The right to self-determination applies and if a region or nation vote to become independent or join another state then that is legitimate provided the vote is independently assessed as fair. This was part of the reason that Putin got away with annexing Crimea because the population supposedly voted for it. But it’s not the only way to define or redefine borders and states, and in the world we have ultimately recognition by the United Nations as the main representative of the international community is what matters. This is why both Israel… Read more »
The Israeli state is no more legitimate than was apartheid South Africa and must be dismantled. Indeed, in its genocidal slaughter Israel has become far worse. Do you believe that the apartheid state should have been preserved in South Africa?
Quote: “The legitimacy of a state always depends on how it is run and the consequences of that for both its own people and others.”
So North Korea and Russia are not legitimate states are they?
The roots of the Russian state go back over 1000 years. Barring a global catastrophe it will continue into the foreseeable future, although its boundaries may change as may its form of government. Not even the most extreme MAGA maniac proposes trying to destroy Russia. North Korea is another matter. There is still no formal agreement between north and south or with the US. At some point the frozen conflict on the peninsula will have to be resolved, one way or another. Let’s hope that happens peacefully. State legitimacy is a complex matter, much easier to detect in hindsight. Israel… Read more »
No. The UN offered a two state solution in 1948. Israel accepted it. The Palestinians rejected it and tried to destroy Israel.
UN partition plan was proposed in 1947. It offered most Palestine land to the zionists despite semitic Palestinian outnumbering the zionists 2 to 1. Zion formed in 1948.
The Palestinian people rejected the imposition of a settler-colonial state because they foresaw how oppressive it would become. They were right.
A pertinent point often missed.
Israel is not ‘democratic’ as it controls the lives of people who have no say in its policies. It is a genocidal state that persistently acts against international law.
Well said.
Nope. Multicultural democracy. Have a look into it. I am correct.
I assume you are referring to the rights of Arab citizens of Israel to vote in elections, permitted for global public relations as they a permanent minority in a gerry-mandered state. It does protect them from second-class status.
But Israel also dominates the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and refugees beyond that, none of whom have any rights in the Israeli state.
Well said.
Nothing democraric about it. Killing innocent Christians and Muslims and illegaly settling land not theirs are not actions of a democratic state
Quote: “Until Israel recognises the state of Palestine the world should refuse to recognise Israel as a state.”
Going by that logic the world should refuse to recognise Russia as a stare until it recognises Ukrainian sovereignty. Recognised a state doesn’t mean we support it.
Ukraine is already a sovereign country. Your analogy is wrong. Anyway, another forgotten fact is that between 1947-49, at least 750,000 Palestinians from a 1.9 million population were made refugees beyond the borders of the new Zionist state. At that time Zionist forces took more than 78% of historic Palestine, ethnically cleansed and destroyed about 530 villages and cities, and killed about 15,000 Palestinians in a series of mass atrocities. They sounded very unpleasant then, and apparently they have been more unpleasant now. They can make a big deal of the despicable terrorist event of October 7th, but they cannot… Read more »
Quote: “Until the philosophy which hold one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned everywhere is a war” Bob Marley RIP…
Somaliland be careful there may be a hidden agenda here to build settlements
Definitely a hidden agenda. Possibly a strategic staging area for attacking houthis.
Hopefully.
Well, a zionist staging post surrounded by well armed and fractious muslim militia. What could go wrong?
It’s really a geopolitical move for Israel to counter the Houthis.
I have seen it suggested that Israel will try forcibly relocating Palestinians to Somaliland.
That actually makes more sense. Blimey how evil are the zionist government? All for the sake of the holy land. Nothing holy in those lands any more but the innocent souls of several thousands of semitic people whose lives were taken.
Why oh why does the UK not recognise Somaliland?. It was a former British protectorate, lumped together unwillingly with Italian Somalia. Since regaining its independence it has been a model of democracy
I have long supported recognition of Somaliland but diplomatic recognition of Israel is misjudged and will lose Somaliland sympathy.
Very true
Agreed, and it’s ironic that it’s Israel of all countries that tecognises Somaliland