Saar says in a statement that Israel should open an embassy in Somaliland, and that Somaliland should do the same in Israel, and that Somaliland "unlike 'Palestine' is not a fictitious state," writes Haaretz.
Somaliland's Ministry of Information describes the visit as a milestone in bilateral relations, while the Somali government says it is "an unacceptable interference in Somalia's internal affairs."
Somalia's Foreign Minister Ali Omar has accused Israel of wanting to move Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Somaliland. Last year, Israeli and American sources told the AP that such a plan existed, but that it had been scrapped.
Somaliland, in northwestern Somalia and with a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden, declared itself an independent republic in 1991. The secession has never been recognized by the outside world.
