In a significant step forward in Israel’s expanding diplomatic and economic outreach in the Horn of Africa, Israel’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Eli Cohen announced a major new cooperation agreement with Somaliland aimed at transforming the breakaway nation’s water and energy infrastructure.
The minister, who also oversees water resources, posted the following statement following high-level meetings:
“Today I met with the President of the Republic of Somaliland H.E. Abdirahman Irro and with my counterparts, the Minister of Energy and Water, along with all the directors of the government companies in the fields of energy, water, and infrastructure.
We concluded agreements to promote cooperation between the countries in the fields of energy and water, which will contribute to growth in Somaliland and to the improvement of the country’s water infrastructure.
Israel is a global leader in technology and innovation, and we are working to assist the countries with which we have relations.
This is my policy: using Israel’s energy economy to build bridges and strengthen our position in the world.”
The announcement comes amid Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi’s landmark official visit to Israel, the first since Israel became the first UN member state to formally recognize Somaliland’s independence. During the visit, both sides are advancing practical partnerships in water management, energy, agriculture, technology, and security.
Israeli expertise in desalination, drip irrigation, wastewater recycling, and renewable energy is expected to play a central role in addressing Somaliland’s chronic water shortages and infrastructure challenges, while opening new markets for Israeli companies.
This latest agreement underscores Jerusalem’s strategy of leveraging its world-class innovation in energy and water technologies to forge strategic alliances, create mutual economic benefits, and expand its global influence — even in the Horn of Africa regions long considered geopolitically complex.