Saudi Arabia believes the UAE helped facilitate Israel’s recognition of Somaliland in exchange for security access to the strategic port of Berbera, according to a new ECFR report, though no independent evidence of such a deal has been presented.
RIYADH (Somali Report) — Saudi Arabia believes the United Arab Emirates helped facilitate Israel’s recognition of Somaliland in return for Israeli access to the strategic port city of Berbera, according to a recent report by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
The claim forms part of an ECFR assessment of the UAE’s growing regional influence and its increasingly competitive relationship with Saudi Arabia. The report says Saudi officials believe Abu Dhabi played a role in facilitating closer ties between Israel and Somaliland, including arrangements linked to Israeli security access to Berbera.
ECFR’s reporting is based, in part, on information attributed to a senior Saudi official interviewed by the report’s author. The official was not named.
The report does not present independent documentary evidence establishing that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland was formally exchanged for access to Berbera. The allegation therefore remains an assessment attributed to Saudi officials and reported by ECFR.
Reuters has also previously reported that the UAE helped broker Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, highlighting Abu Dhabi’s longstanding economic and security interests in the territory. The UAE has developed significant ties with Somaliland through its involvement in the port of Berbera, which is operated under a long-term concession by Dubai-based DP World.
Berbera’s strategic importance
Israel recognised Somaliland in December 2025, becoming the first country to formally recognise the territory, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991.
The move has drawn intense regional attention because of Somaliland’s location along the Gulf of Aden, close to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical maritime passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
ECFR has previously reported that Israel’s recognition was widely expected to be linked to Somaliland authorising an Israeli military or intelligence presence aimed at monitoring Houthi activity in Yemen. It said the UAE was widely suspected of having played a role, given its longstanding economic and security footprint in Somaliland and its involvement in Berbera.
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A separate ECFR analysis published in September said the two sides had signed security agreements covering training and intelligence cooperation, while an Israeli military presence at an Emirati base in Berbera could be established.
The UAE has maintained a major commercial presence in Berbera through DP World, which holds a 30-year concession for the port. ECFR describes Berbera as one of the UAE’s most important assets in Africa and places it within Abu Dhabi’s broader strategy of combining ports, trade, investment and security partnerships across the Red Sea region.
Growing Saudi-UAE rivalry
The allegations come against the backdrop of an increasingly open strategic rivalry between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over influence in the Red Sea, Yemen and the wider Horn of Africa.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE were once close partners on several regional issues, but their interests have increasingly diverged, particularly over Yemen and regional security arrangements. ECFR has described the two countries as moving from partners towards rivals, with their competition extending into the Horn of Africa.
Somalia has strongly rejected Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, calling it a violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Mogadishu has also accused the UAE of actions undermining Somalia’s unity.
The dispute has further complicated Somalia’s relations with Abu Dhabi, while Saudi Arabia has strengthened its engagement with Mogadishu amid the broader Gulf competition.
The ECFR report adds a new dimension to the controversy by highlighting Saudi officials’ view that Emirati involvement in the Israel-Somaliland relationship may have been connected to Israeli security interests around Berbera.
However, the precise terms of any alleged arrangement remain unclear, and neither ECFR nor the Saudi official cited in the report has provided public evidence establishing that Israeli recognition was formally exchanged for security access to the port.
About the Author
Ahmed Omar is a senior journalist for Somali Report, based in Mogadishu. He has two decades of experience reporting on Somalia for international and local media. He covers politics, security, governance, business, trade, economic developments and regional affairs.
