At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Somaliland’s president met Eric Trump and Israel’s president to pitch investment opportunities and push for international recognition
Davos, Switzerland – As political and business leaders converged this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the president of Somaliland used the high-profile gathering to press a long-running diplomatic campaign: securing international recognition for his country while courting foreign investment to anchor its economic future.
According to Reuters, President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi held a series of meetings on the sidelines of the forum, including a closed-door discussion with Eric Trump, a senior executive in the Trump family’s global business empire and the son of U.S. President Donald Trump, according to officials familiar with the talks.
The meeting took place Wednesday in a hotel conference room near the Davos venue, as President Trump addressed an audience of global executives and policymakers. Also present was Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whose country last month became the first United Nations member state to formally recognize Somaliland.
During the discussion, Abdullahi outlined investment opportunities in Somaliland, with a particular focus on the strategic port of Berbera, a deep-sea facility located along one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors linking the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, said two people briefed on the meeting.
“The meeting went well—very well,” Abdullahi said in an interview Thursday, confirming that he met with both Eric Trump and Herzog. He declined to provide further details about specific investment proposals discussed.
A spokeswoman for Eric Trump did not respond to requests for comment.
Herzog, writing on X, said he was pleased to meet with the Somaliland leader in Davos, though his post did not reference Eric Trump or any business discussions.
Business and Politics Intersect
The encounter comes at a moment of renewed scrutiny over the Trump Organization’s global ambitions. During President Trump’s first term, the family had adopted voluntary ethics guidelines barring the pursuit of new business deals outside the United States. Those restrictions were lifted earlier this month, shortly before the president’s second inauguration, when the Trump Organization announced revised guidelines allowing for expanded international activity.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment regarding the Davos meeting.
For Somaliland, the outreach reflects both opportunity and urgency. The territory has operated with de facto independence since 1991, when Somalia collapsed into civil war. While Somaliland has maintained relative stability, held elections and built its own institutions, it has remained unrecognized by the international community for more than three decades.
Recognition by Israel has injected new momentum into Somaliland’s diplomatic push, officials say, particularly as global powers reassess strategic footholds in the Horn of Africa—a region increasingly shaped by competition over ports, trade routes and security partnerships.
“Berbera is not just an economic asset,” said a regional analyst following the Davos meetings. “It is a geopolitical one, and Somaliland is signaling that it is open for business as well as diplomacy.”
Whether the Davos overtures translate into concrete investment—or further diplomatic breakthroughs—remains uncertain. But Somaliland’s presence at one of the world’s most exclusive economic forums underscored its determination to step out of diplomatic isolation and onto the global stage.
