The United Arab Emirates is pressuring Somaliland to sign a joint cooperation agreement and establish an Israeli military base on its territory. The United Arab Emirates has had a military base since 2017 and is one of the few countries that has recognized Somaliland as a country. In addition, it invests money in the country and trains Somaliland's security forces

Somaliland is part of Somalia which declared independence in 1991, but the country is not recognized by the countries of the world. The country is at the entrance to the Bab al-Mandab strait, opposite Yemen

There were reports in the past that Israel and the United Arab Emirates wanted to take over the island of Socotra in Yemen and establish a military and intelligence base there with Israel. According to reports from March 2024, Israel and the United Arab Emirates took over the island of Abdul Kori west of the island of Sokrata and established a military base there including a runway for airplanes