Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 9, 2020

Sep 9, 2020

A top official from Chad told the Israeli pressTuesdaythat his country would be willing to open a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem. The official was part of a senior Chadian delegationthat arrived to Jerusalem at the invitation of Israels National Security Council. Headed by Chads cabinet chairAbdelkarim Deby, the delegation met yesterday and today with a series of Israeli top officialsincludingPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen and National Security Council chief Meir ben Shabbat.

A statement issued yesterday by Netanyahus office said that the premier and Deby "discussed the appointment of ambassadors and the opening of missions, including the possibility of opening an embassy in Jerusalem."The office of Cohen issued a similar statement, saying, "At the request of Minister Cohen, Gen.Deby responded positively to advancing the establishment of an official representative office of Chad in Jerusalem."

Ashkenazi tweeted Wednesday morningthat he and Deby"discussed the window of opportunity that has opened in the Middle East for building bridges between the peoples and establishing diplomatic relations between the countries."

Cohen went a bit further,tweetingabout"an important meeting with Chad cabinet chiefGen.Abdelkarim Deby and the director of Chads National Security Agency, Gen.Ahmed Kogri." He wrote, "We discussed strengthening cooperation in the fields of intelligence, security and economy, and about other good news to be published further down the road."

However, a report late Tuesday, just hours after the Israeli announcements, cast doubton the plans. Al Jazeera quoted Chad's Foreign Ministry as saying, We categorically deny any plan to open a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem."

Chad severed its diplomatic ties with Israel in 1972. In 2018, Chadian President Idriss Deby visited Israel and met withNetanyahu,a trip that received large media coverage in both countries. Two months later, the two leaders met again; this time in the Chadian capital of NDjamena. Israel and Chad agreed to renew diplomatic ties, with Netanyahu hailing "abreakthrough in the heart of the Muslim world."

The renewal of ties with Chad did not immediately produce cooperation projects, though the Foreign Ministry is considering such programs. The Chadian regimeis interested in Israels technological advancements in the fields of smart agriculture, water management and education. It is also interested perhaps more than anything else in Israels military industry.

According toforeign press reports, another delegation from Chad had visited Israel in July. Thereports claimed that Mossad chief Yossi Cohen has visited NDjamena on several occasions, thatKogri has visited Israel on several occasionsand that these relations are backed and supported by the American administration.

Other Muslim countries in Africa have also expressed interest in establishing ties in Israel. Last February, while visiting Uganda, Netanyahumetwith the head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Gen.Abdel Fatah al-Burhan. And while the meeting did not lead to any official movement towardrenewing diplomatic relations, it certainly warmed up contacts between the sides. Since then, Sudanese officials have released contradictory statements on the issue, which is apparently a source of disagreement between the military and the civil leaderships.

In another interesting development in Israel-Africa relations, Malawi announced over the weekend that it would open its first ever diplomatic mission in Israel, and that the mission would be placed in Jerusalem. Addressing the Malawi Parliament on reforming the countrys Foreign Ministry, President Lazarus Chakwera said, "The reforms will also include a review of our diplomatic presence, including our resolve to have new diplomatic missions in Lagos, Nigeria, and Jerusalem, Israel. I will be sharing more details about this in the near future."

See the article here:

Chad rumored to consider opening mission in Jerusalem - Al-Monitor

Category: Ashkenazi
Tags: