There is no Israeli military presence in Somaliland and no talks for Israel to open a base there, Somaliland's Defense Minister Mohamed Yusef Ali told Reuters on Wednesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of a business conference in Tel Aviv, he said Israel was training Somaliland's military and police, but called reports that Israel was in negotiations to establish a military base in Somaliland rumors.

Michael Lotem, Israel's ambassador to Somaliland, declined to comment.

Strategically situated on the Horn of Africa, Somaliland has enjoyed effective autonomy and relative peace and stability since 1991, when it broke away from Somalia as that country descended into civil war.

Israel recognized Somaliland as an independent state last December, the first country to formally do so, in a move Somalia rejected and termed a deliberate attack on its sovereignty.

In February, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi told Reuters that while Somaliland hopes for future military cooperation with Israel, establishing Israeli military bases had not been discussed.

The Somali Guardian reported on Sunday that Israel had opened an intelligence base in Somaliland and there were discussions over the possible establishment of an Israeli military base.

Israel-Somaliland relations are new but developing quickly

After Israel and Somaliland formally established diplomatic relations in December, the two nations quickly set about building a working infrastructure. Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and First Lady Fardowsa Mohamed Roble, accompanied by a senior delegation, arrived in Israel on Sunday for further discussion.

This comes a month after Somaliland's new Ambassador to Israel, Mohamed Hagi, announced that the Embassy of the African Republic will be based in Jerusalem.

However, these diplomatic ties have not come without backlash. Though Somaliland has had a quiet, under-the-radar relationship with Israel for several years, a coalition of 14 pro-Palestinian nations condemned the alliance, calling it illegal and saying that east Jerusalem was under Israeli occupation.

This was not a concern for Abdullahi at the time, and relations between the two nations persist.

Shir Perets, Miriam Sela-Eitam, Amichai Stein, Greer Fay Cashman, Avi Solomon, Ruby Sadikman, and James Genn contributed to this report.