Somaliland president meets Eric Trump and Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Davos

Somaliland’s president held separate talks with his Israeli counterpart and the US leader’s second son, as the breakaway region continues to seek international recognition and foreign investment.

Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi met with Isaac Herzog and businessman Eric Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“Our discussions focused on strengthening and advancing bilateral relations between the Republic of Somaliland and the State of Israel,” Abdullahi said in a post on X about the meeting with Herzog.

last month, Israel becomes first country to recognize Somaliland – 35 years after declaring independence from Somalia.

Somaliland President “Siro” shared the photo on social media The closed-door event was reportedly organized by the Greek House Davos Initiative, a private forum for discreet high-level gatherings.

Abdirahman Bayer, an adviser to the Somaliland leader, told the BBC that Eric Trump had “expressed interest in Somaliland and the opportunities it offers”.

“We are discussing issues such as global investors in livestock and agriculture so that we can industrialize these sectors and export to the rest of the world,” Bell added.

Livestock is the territory’s main export, mainly to Saudi Arabia.

Eric Trump holds no official position in the U.S. government but holds a senior position within the Trump Organization, which runs the family business. The BBC has contacted his representatives for comment but has yet to receive a reply.

Somaliland is strategically located on the main shipping routes of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

During the talks, the president emphasized Somaliland’s openness to investment and pointed to the Berbera deep-water port as a potential logistics hub for trade and energy infrastructure.

Bell told the BBC his government’s approach had changed.

“For the first time we are no longer asking the world for aid,” he said. “We are making our resources available.”

Israeli president calls talks positive Post on X: “I am delighted to meet the President of Somaliland in Davos.

I welcome our establishment of diplomatic relations and look forward to deepening our cooperation to the benefit of our two peoples. “

At the beginning of this month, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar visits Somaliland For the first time, it also expressed Israel’s determination to “vigorously” advance relations with Somaliland.

Somaliland has been autonomous since it broke away from Somalia in 1991 after the collapse of the central government in Mogadishu. It held its own elections, issued its own currency, established its own security forces and remained relatively stable compared with much of southern Somalia.

However, it was not until Israel took action last December that its declaration of independence was recognized internationally. The admission drew criticism from Somalia, the African Union and countries including China and Türkiye, which said it violated Somalia’s territorial integrity.

The United States has defended Israel and accused its critics of double standards.