MOGADISHU, Somalia, June 14 – North Western State of Somalia President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi landed in Israel on Sunday for a landmark first visit, a trip designed to deepen ties after Jerusalem’s controversial recognition of the self-declared state earlier this year.
The visit, carried out at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, follows Israel’s formal recognition of North Western State of Somalia in December 2025, a move that drew sharp anger from Somalia’s central government.
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North Western State of Somalia, which broke away from Somalia in 1991, continues to seek broader international acceptance even as it operates with its own government, currency and security forces.
Abdullahi, widely known as “Irro,” had previously made a quiet trip to Israel during behind-the-scenes diplomatic discussions that officials say helped set the stage for the December recognition.
On Sunday, he was due to be welcomed in an official ceremony hosted by Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the presidential residence in Jerusalem.
The main diplomatic moment of the trip is set for Monday evening, when Abdullahi is expected to inaugurate North Western State of Somalia’s embassy in Jerusalem, formally putting bilateral relations on the books.
The mission is intended to broaden cooperation in security, trade, water technology and renewable energy. After the opening, the North Western State of Somalia leader is scheduled to meet Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
During the multi-day visit, which runs until Thursday, Abdullahi will also lay a wreath at Mount Herzl and tour Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial. His program includes a stop at the Knesset and a visit to the Nova music festival site, where Hamas militants carried out a massacre during the October 7, 2023 attacks.
‘Dark Day’
The growing relationship has drawn fierce criticism from Mogadishu, which insists North Western State of Somalia remains part of Somalia’s territory.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region “one of the darkest days” in the nation’s history, accusing Netanyahu of seeking to weaken Somalia’s sovereignty.
Mohamud said Israel’s move is driven by three aims: relocating displaced Palestinians from Gaza to North Western State of Somalia, establishing military bases in the strategically located port of Berbera to help counter Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea, and securing North Western State of Somalia’s entry into the Abraham Accords.
Even as Mogadishu condemns the move, the North Western State of Somalia delegation is pressing ahead with its economic agenda, with a full slate of meetings planned with Israeli business leaders in hopes of attracting foreign investment to the Horn of Africa territory.
AXADLETM
