RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet on Tuesday reaffirmed the Kingdom’s rejection of any attempts to create parallel entities that undermine Somalia’s unity, territorial integrity, or national sovereignty.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz chaired the Cabinet session held in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The cabinet welcomed the outcome of the extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) regarding the situation in Somalia, held in the city of Jeddah.
The Cabinet reaffirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause, emphasising the Kingdom’s unwavering support for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
These efforts aim to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and to establish an independent state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Israel, on December 25, 2025, 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.
The Somaliland region of Somalia, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, has for decades pushed for international recognition.
Several other countries condemned Israel’s controversial 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 region “remains an integral part” of Somalia, an AU member, said the pan-African body’s head, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.
