Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi met his Israeli counterpart on Sunday in Jerusalem during his first-ever state visit, which comes months after Israel officially recognized the breakaway region.

Axar.az reports, citing foreign media, that Israel became the first country to recognize Somaliland’s independence in December, decades after it declared autonomy from Somalia in 1991 following a civil war.

In a statement from the office of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Abdullahi said the visit carried “special significance,” calling it the first state visit by a Somaliland president and expressing appreciation for the reception.

He also said Somaliland had been reaching out to world leaders for 35 years, noting that Israel was the only country that had shown willingness to recognize and engage with Somaliland.

Herzog, in turn, described the visit as a symbol of “great potential” for a new partnership and stressed shared concerns over security, radical extremism, and maritime stability.

The visit follows the appointment of Israel’s first ambassador to Somaliland and Somaliland’s designation of its own envoy to Israel. Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Somaliland in January, a move that drew strong criticism from Somalia.