JEDDAH: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called an extraordinary meeting of its foreign ministers to deliberate on rapidly escalating and dangerous developments in Somalia.
The meeting at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah comes in the wake of recent developments, including Israel’s recognition of the so-called “Somaliland” as an independent state, a step seen as violating Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday.
It aims to formulate a unified Islamic position on these developments and reaffirm the OIC’s unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia, in line with international conventions and relevant OIC resolutions.
It may be recalled that the OIC, on January 1, condemned Israel’s decision to recognise Somaliland as an independent state, describing the move as illegal and a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.
Israel, on December 25, formally recognised Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” and signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations, as the region’s leader welcomed what he described as its first official recognition.
Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, has for decades pushed for international recognition, the key priority for President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi since he took office last year.
Several other countries condemned Israel’s decision. The African Union (AU) rejected the move and warned that it risked “setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent”.
Somaliland “remains an integral part” of Somalia, an AU member, said the pan-African body’s head, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords”, referring to a series of agreements brokered by US President Donald Trump in his first term that normalised ties between Israel and several Arab nations.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has described the move as a serious threat to national unity.
