Somaliland’s president has held separate talks with his Israeli counterpart, as well as the US leader’s second son, as the breakaway region continues to seek international recognition and foreign investment.
Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi met Isaac Herzog and businessman Eric Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Our discussions are focused on strengthening and improving bilateral relations between the Republic of Somaliland and the State of Israel,” Abdullahi said in an X post about the meeting with Herzog.
Last month, Israel became the first country to recognize Somaliland – 35 years after it declared independence from Somalia.
President “Cirro”, as he is known in Somaliland, shared the images on social media in the closed-door event, which was reportedly organized by the program of the Greek House Davos, a private forum for discreet high-level gatherings.
Abdirahman Bayle, an adviser to the Somaliland leader, told the BBC that Eric Trump “expressed the interests of Somaliland and the opportunities it offers”.
“Among the issues we discussed are global investors in the livestock and agriculture sectors, so that we can industrialize these sectors and export to the rest of the world,” Bayle added.
Livestock is the territory’s main export, especially to Saudi Arabia.
Eric Trump does not hold any official position in the US government but has a senior role in the Trump Organization, which runs family businesses. The BBC approached his representatives for comment but did not receive a response.
Somaliland is located in a strategic position on major Red Sea and Gulf of Aden shipping routes.
During the talks, the president highlighted Somaliland’s openness to investment, pointing to the Berbera deep sea port as a potential logistics hub for trade and energy infrastructure.
Bayle told the BBC that his government’s approach had changed.
“For the first time, we didn’t ask the world for help,” he said. “We offer our resources.”
The Israeli president described the talks as positive, post on X: “I am happy to meet here in Davos with the President of Somaliland.
“I welcome the establishment of diplomatic relations between us and look forward to deepening cooperation for the benefit of our two peoples.”
Earlier this month, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Somaliland for the first time and said that Israel is determined to improve relations with Somaliland “with momentum”.
Somaliland has been self-governing since it seceded from Somalia in 1991 following the collapse of the central government in Mogadishu. It holds its own elections, issues its own currency and builds its own security forces, maintaining relative stability compared to much of southern Somalia.
However, the declaration of independence was not recognized internationally until Israel’s move in December. The recognition drew criticism from Somalia, the African Union and countries including China and Turkey, which said it violated Somalia’s territorial integrity.
The US has defended Israel, accusing its critics of double standards.