Somaliland opens Jerusalem embassy after Israel's recognition of its independence

The breakaway state of Somaliland has opened an embassy in Jerusalem, six months after Israel became the first country to recognise it as an independent nation.

The opening of the diplomatic mission at a technology park in West Jerusalem came while Somaliland's President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi was on an official visit to Israel.

During a meeting with the president, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of "a deep spiritual bond between our peoples".

But Somalia, which considers Somaliland to be part of its territory, described any engagement with "the secessionist administration of the northern region of Somalia… [as] a violation of its sovereignty".

Israel's recognition of Somaliland last December was controversial. Dozens of countries and organisations including China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the African Union criticised the declaration.

But since then Israel and Somaliland have been cementing ties. Earlier this year Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar made an official visit to Somaliland's capital, Hargeisa.

Somaliland's decision to open its mission in Jerusalem rather than Tel Aviv, where most foreign embassies are based, was also praised by Netanyahu.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed the sector in 1980, in a move not recognised by the vast majority of the international community, and regards the whole of Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided" capital.