File Photo: Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar. AFP
"A delegation led by the Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Saar landed at the Hargeisa town, he was received at the airport by senior government officials. He had meetings with the Somaliland top officials," the presidency said in a statement.
Israel last week became the first country to recognise Somaliland as an "independent and sovereign state", triggering protests across Somalia and widespread regional condemnation.
On Wednesday, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, citing intelligence reports, told Al Jazeera that Somaliland had accepted three conditions from Israel: the resettlement of Palestinians, the establishment of a military base on the Gulf of Aden, and joining the Abraham Accords to normalise ties with Israel.
Somaliland's foreign ministry denied the first two conditions.
"The Government of the Republic of Somaliland firmly rejects false claims made by the President of Somalia alleging the resettlement of Palestinians or the establishment of military bases in Somaliland," it said in a statement on X.
It said the deal was "purely diplomatic".
"These baseless allegations are intended to mislead the international community and undermine Somaliland's diplomatic progress," it added.
Somaliland's location alongside one of the world's busiest shipping lanes has made it a key partner for foreign countries.
Some analysts say an alliance with Somaliland is especially useful to Israel for its strategic position on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, close to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who struck Israel repeatedly during the Gaza war.
Somaliland unilaterally declared independence in 1991, in a move that was not recognized regionally or internationally.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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