Legal Analysts and Commentator

On December 26, 2025, Israel formally recognized the Republic of Somaliland , becoming the first country to grant official recognition to the self-declared state since it broke away from Somalia in 1991. The decision marked a dramatic shift in Somaliland’s decades-long quest for international legitimacy and immediately placed the territory at the center of a complex regional and geopolitical debate. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi signed a mutual recognition agreement that signaled intentions to cooperate in agriculture, health, technology, and trade, while echoing the logic of the Abraham Accords that reshaped Israel’s relations with parts of the Arab world after 2020 ( Reuters ). For Somaliland, the moment carried historical resonance. Israel had briefly recognized Somaliland in 1960, before the former British protectorate united with Italian Somaliland to form the Somali Republic . That recognition disappeared a...

Africa is a continent endowed with vast natural resources, cultural diversity, and an energetic youth population. From gold, diamonds, oil, cobalt , and uranium to fertile agricultural land, Africa holds some of the world’s most valuable commodities. Despite this wealth, the continent has struggled for decades with slow socio-economic development . The challenges are complex rooted in internal governance problems, historical exploitation, and modern geopolitical interests. Africa’s role as a global resource hub cannot be overstated. The Democratic Republic of Congo supplies a significant portion of the world’s cobalt, a critical component in electric car batteries and smartphones, while Nigeria and Angola stand among the continent’s leading oil producers. Ghana and South Africa contribute heavily to global gold production, and Côte d’Ivoire along with Ghana dominate the world’s cocoa supply. Overall, Africa holds an estimated 30 percent of global mineral reserves and possesse...