The Ministry said that any official engagement without Somalia’s consent was illegal and void and called on international bodies, including the United Nations and the African Union, to support its territorial integrity.

Israel is the only country that has formally recognised Somaliland’s move to break away from Somalia, which described Israel’s decision on recognition as an “unlawful step”.

In a statement on X, Saar said that he had held talks “on the full range of relations” with Somaliland’s President, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, in the capital Hargeisa.

“We are determined to vigorously advance relations between Israel and Somaliland,” Saar wrote on X, alongside images of him meeting the Somaliland leader at the Presidential palace.

Somaliland’s Information Ministry earlier said on X that Saar was leading a high-level delegation. It gave no further details, but a senior Somaliland official told Reuters before the meeting with the President that the Israeli Foreign Minister was expected to discuss ways to enhance bilateral ties.

–Reuters–