Greece Should Recognize Somaliland

This article, “Greece Should Recognize Somaliland,” argues that Greece should recognize Somaliland as an independent country, following Israel’s lead.

The author, Michael Rubin, presents several reasons:

• Somaliland’s Deserving Status: Somaliland was briefly independent in 1960 with UN Security Council recognition before merging with Somalia. After Somalia’s collapse and a period of civil war and genocide, Somaliland reasserted its independence, rebuilt itself, and established a democratic government with multiple elections and biometric voter registration.

• Economic Potential: Somaliland has a growing economy with significant investments in telecom, mobile money, and infrastructure, including the Port of Berbera, which is strategically important for trade and is linked to Ethiopia via a special corridor. This corridor presents business opportunities for Greece.

• Strategic Security: The Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are disrupting shipping and disproportionately affecting Greece. Berbera’s port and airport could serve as a base for Greek and allied patrols, offering a more efficient way to counter the Houthi threat compared to current operations. Somaliland is also a secure and stable country.

• Countering Turkish Influence: Turkey is increasing its influence in Somalia, supporting its Islamist government. Greece should counter this by establishing a diplomatic presence in Hargeisa, Somaliland, and ideally recognizing Somaliland’s independence.

In conclusion, the author suggests that recognizing Somaliland aligns with Greece’s interests as a commercial and energy hub and would support a new democracy while countering regional instability.

The complete piece is as follows:

Greece Should Recognize Somaliland

Why Athens Should Follow Jerusalem’s Lead in the Horn of Africa

By Michael Rubin

On December 26, 2025, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel would formally recognize the hitherto unrecognized Republic of Somaliland.

“Today we signed an agreement on mutual recognition and the establishment of full diplomatic relations, which will include the appointment of ambassadors and the opening of embassies,” he announced on X. “We will work together to promote the relations between our countries and nations, regional stability and economic prosperity.”

Greece should follow suit for reasons of both justice and security.

There is no aspirant country more deserving of international recognition than Somaliland. Somaliland, formerly a British protectorate, first won its independence on June 26, 1960. All five members of the UN Security Council recognized the state and its borders. Five days later, however, Somaliland merged with the former Italian Somaliland to former the Somali Republic which in turn became Somalia.

There is no aspirant country more deserving of international recognition than Somaliland.

It was a marriage made in hell, culminating in Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre’s attempt at genocide against the Isaaq clan predominant in Somaliland and then Somalia’s collapse. Most everyone remembers the famine and how humanitarian intervention turned to disaster culminating in the “Black Hawk Down” incident.

Somaliland, however, did not follow Somalia into the abyss. It reasserted its independence, rebuilt itself, and embraced democracy. Not only has Somaliland undertaken eight elections since, many involving transfers of power between rival parties, but it became the first country in the world to secure election registration with biometric iris scans.

It built its economy on little more than customs revenue and a commitment to transparency and now hosts multibillion-dollar telecom and mobile money businesses, the second largest Coca Cola bottling plant in Africa, and the Port of Berbera, ranked by the World Bank just behind Piraeus in rankings of top global deep water container ports. Berbera’s port is also the terminus for a special corridor to Ethiopia, a huge though largely untapped market for Greek business.

Berbera is also a security lynchpin. The rise of the Houthis in Yemen and their targeting of merchant ships, including many owned or flagged by Greece, has disrupted all shipping but affected Greece disproportionately. This is why Greece joined the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian and later took a leading role in the European Union Naval Force’s Operation Aspides.

The rise of the Houthis in Yemen and their targeting of merchant ships, including many owned or flagged by Greece, has disrupted all shipping but affected Greece disproportionately.

Patrolling the Red Sea is not only expensive and resource intensive, but its effect against the Houthis has been limited. To operate out of Berbera, both its port and adjacent airport which itself was once an emergency landing strip for NASA’s Space Shuttle program, Greece and likeminded countries could patrol faster with smaller, more agile ships, helicopters, and aircraft.

Somaliland is also secure; it has not suffered a terror attack since 2008. When my daughter was nine years old, she spent Christmas in Somaliland, swam in the Gulf of Aden, explored the streets of Hargeisa, and the Neolithic cave painting at Laas Geel, all without any security. Simply put, Somaliland is as different from Somalia as Larnaca is from Libya.

Activist Greek diplomacy has largely secured and protected the Eastern Mediterranean from revisionist and terror-sponsoring forces. But Greece’s interests go beyond just the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.

As Greece becomes a commercial and energy hub for all Europe, its interests extend to the Red Sea and Bab El-Mandeb. As Turkey chooses to double down on Mogadishu and its Islamist government, Greece should, at a minimum, join Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Kenya to establish a diplomatic office in Hargeisa. Even better, though, would be to follow Israel’s lead and welcome Somaliland into the family of moderate, law-abiding maritime nations.

Greece increasing punches above its weight diplomatically. How fitting it would be if the country that introduced democracy to humanity would welcome the world’s newest democracy.

Published originally at Hellas Journal on December 28, 2025.