Behind closed doors, officials from Somaliland and Israel have been quietly exploring the contours of a security partnership that could redraw geopolitical lines across the Horn of Africa, according to a report published by the Paris-based intelligence outlet Africa Intelligence.
The talks, conducted between representatives in Hargeisa — the capital of the self-declared republic — and counterparts in Tel Aviv, have not been officially acknowledged by either side. But their mere existence, if confirmed, would mark a significant development in the diplomatic calculus of a region long defined by fragility, competing interests, and great-power rivalry.
Key points
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- Africa Intelligence reported confidential security dialogues between Somaliland and Israel.
- Talks were held between officials in Hargeisa and Tel Aviv, per unnamed sources.
- Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but remains internationally unrecognised.
- Israel has a documented history of forging security and intelligence partnerships across Africa.
Secret talks come into the open
Africa Intelligence, which covers security and diplomatic affairs across the African continent, cited unnamed sources familiar with the negotiations in its account of the discussions. The report did not detail specific agreements or outcomes, but indicated that the exchanges went well beyond the kind of routine diplomatic contact typical of countries without formal ties.
Somaliland, which broke from Somalia in 1991 following a brutal civil war, has spent more than three decades seeking international legitimacy with limited success. No United Nations member state formally recognises it as a sovereign nation, though it maintains informal relations and functional governance across its territory in northwestern Somalia.
For Israel, the reported engagement fits a broader pattern. Tel Aviv has cultivated security and intelligence partnerships across sub-Saharan Africa for decades, often prioritising relationships that yield strategic benefits — access to key waterways, intelligence sharing, or influence in diplomatically contested spaces — even where formal recognition is absent or complicated.
A region of strategic importance
Somaliland geography makes it a prize worth competing for. Its northern coastline runs along the Gulf of Aden, one of the busiest and most strategically critical shipping lanes on earth. Roughly 12% of global trade passes through the adjacent Bab el-Mandeb Strait each year, making control and influence in the area a priority for naval powers and commercial interests alike.
The broader Horn of Africa has grown increasingly crowded with foreign military presences and competing alliances in recent years. The United States, China, France, and several Gulf states have all established military facilities or deepened security ties in the region, with Djibouti serving as the most visible hub of that international jostling for position.
Against that backdrop, a reported Israeli engagement with Somaliland carries weight. The region faces persistent threats from al-Shabaab militants operating out of southern Somalia, piracy networks that have resurged in recent years, and the destabilising effects of ongoing conflicts in neighbouring Ethiopia and Sudan.
Geopolitical implications for the Horn
Analysts who follow the region say that Somaliland, for its part, has every incentive to cultivate security relationships with capable partners — particularly as it seeks to strengthen its case for international recognition. A relationship with Israel, however quiet, could signal to other governments that Somaliland is a functional and serious actor worthy of deeper engagement.
For Israel, the strategic rationale is similarly clear. Access to a partner along the Gulf of Aden would strengthen its ability to monitor maritime routes increasingly used to smuggle weapons to adversaries in the region. It would also mark a foothold in a part of Africa where Israeli influence has historically been limited.
Neither the Somaliland government nor Israeli officials have commented publicly on the Africa Intelligence report. The talks, if they reflect a genuine strategic opening, remain at an early and sensitive stage. But in the Horn of Africa — where silence often signals more than speeches — the absence of a denial carries its own meaning.
