The president of the breakaway Somaliland region, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, is expected to make his first official visit to Israel at the end of March, three months after Tel Aviv recognised the breakaway state's independence , according to Israeli news media.
Reports last month suggested that Abdullahi could officially join the Abraham Accords during his first trip to Israel, the controversial normalisation pact between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain brokered by Washington in 2020, and later expanded to include Morocco and Sudan.
Israel and officials in the breakaway region are working towards signing a trade agreement, while the self-declared territory has signalled openness to hosting an Israeli military base.
Israel in December became the first country in the world to recognise Somaliland , stoking regional tensions and triggering a diplomatic crisis between Somalia and the UAE, which has strong relations with both Somaliland and Israel.
The region – located on Somalia's northern coast on the Gulf of Aden – has been self-ruling since it unilaterally declared independence in 1991 but has failed to gain international recognition.
Somaliland authorities are now looking to persuade the US to recognise its independence and have offered Washington access to its minerals and military bases in return.
Some analysts believe that the UAE will also follow Israel in declaring support for Somaliland's sovereignty.
Somalia cut ties with the Gulf state last month, accusing it of influencing Israel's decision. Israeli president in Ethiopia Israeli President Isaac Herzog travelled to Ethiopia on Wednesday in what is the first presidential visit to the East African country since 2018.
Herzog met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed after arriving in Addis Ababa and is expected to hold talks with Ethiopia's President Taye Atske Selassie during his two-day trip.
The two discussed "strengthening relations between the countries, deepening cooperation in innovation and trade, as well as regional issues of mutual interest", the president's office said, without providing further details.
There is a large Ethiopian Jewish and non-Jewish diaspora in Israel, many of whom have complained about mistreatment and discrimination.
It comes as regional powers step up the battle for influence in East Africa, and on the heels of visits from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud.
Countries in the region are being drawn into what is perceived as a geopolitical rivalry between Israel and the UAE on one side and Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan on the other.