A 2005 interview in which former Somaliland President H.E. Dahir Riyale Kahin openly discussed the possibility of establishing relations with Israel has resurfaced, gaining renewed attention following the establishment of official diplomatic relations between Somaliland and Israel two decades later.
In the interview with Al Jazeera, Riyale was asked directly about reports concerning Somaliland’s relationship with Israel and whether his government was considering closer ties with the country.
“There are a large number of Arab countries that have good relations with Israel,” Riyale said. “We still don’t have relations with Israel, and we will study this matter in the future.”
He added that Somaliland would ultimately make its own decision based on its national interests.
“If we have an interest in establishing relations with Israel, we will establish them,” Riyale said, according to the interview.
Riyale also pointed to what he described as a contradiction in the position of some Arab states, saying that while some Arab governments urged Somaliland not to establish relations with Israel, those same countries maintained strong relations with Israel themselves.
His most emphatic message came when he stressed Somaliland’s right to determine its own foreign policy.
“When we decide on this, we will not hesitate, and no one on earth can stop us,” Riyale said.
Nearly 20 years later, that statement has taken on new significance as Somaliland and Israel have moved toward formal diplomatic relations and mutual recognition, marking a major development in Somaliland’s long-running pursuit of international recognition and strategic partnerships.
The development also comes after years of strained relations between Somaliland and many Arab League states, which Somaliland supporters have frequently accused of opposing or undermining its international diplomatic ambitions.
For Somaliland, the emerging relationship with Israel represents not only a new diplomatic opening but also a striking continuation of a position articulated by Riyale in 2005: that Somaliland would ultimately determine its external relationships according to its own interests, regardless of outside pressure.
What was once presented as a possibility in a television interview has, two decades later, become a defining chapter in Somaliland’s evolving foreign policy.