The Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert Dussey met Monday in Jerusalem with the premier Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu. A meeting which follows the official visit made by president Faure Gnassingbé in August 2016 in Israel. At the time, the two parties had agreed to organize a Africa-Israel Summit in 2017 to Lomé.
It’s now official, and it will be held from 16 to 20 October 2017 in Lomé. This first event of its kind, designed by Africa-Israel Connect and proposed the two governments meet in the same place for 5 days official Israeli and African.
Benjamin Netanyahou will attend the African works as well as many heads of State and Government. The conference will focus on the themes of security, the fight against terrorism, but also on issues related to the partnership in the areas of agriculture, energy water, health. The Summit will also focus on the use of new technologies as a lever for development.
Furthermore Mashav, the Israeli Agency for international cooperation, will attempt to provide solutions to the challenges facing Africa. The Summit will be above all a unique opportunity for many African countries to strengthen their political and economic ties with the Jewish State.
In parallel, the Togolese capital will host a major exhibition during which Israeli and African businesses can show their expertise in various areas critical to the development of the continent and develop new partnerships. The choice of Togo to host the first Africa-Israel Summit was natural for leaders of AfricaIsrael-Connect. Indeed, the country is both a true friend of Israel and a dynamic hub in West Africa.
This Summit illustrates the dynamism of Togolese diplomacy led by president Faure Gnassingbé.
During the interview with Robert Dussey, Benjamin Netanyahou said that his country was excited to participate in the Summit as a great accelerator of development for relations between Israel and the African continent. In addition, he praised president Gnassingbé for his contributions to the israelo-africain reconciliation and his loyal friendship.
‘ The ambition of president Faure Gnassingbé is to meet all of Africa in Lomé to define the contours of a new partnership between Africa and Israel. This Summit will allow to draw the borders of the rebirth of the historic relationship between our continent and the Jewish State ‘, stressed the head of Togolese diplomacy.
The Israeli Prime Minister eager to diversify its alliances, toured official last July that led him in Uganda, Ethiopia, the Kenya and Rwanda. First visit of an Israeli leader for 30 years.
During this trip, Netanyahu said ‘Israel returned to Africa and Africa returned to Israel’.
This diplomatic momentum continued at an accelerated pace: in late July, Jerusalem announced the restoration of diplomatic relations with Guinea while talks were committed with Chad, Muslim country located in the Sahel, strategic front against jihadism.
In addition, sourced information and credible State of informal channels are discussed with Sudan and Somalia.
Conditions for a close dialogue between Israel and Africa are now met through or as a result of the geostrategic context and economic imperatives.
‘ Israel has the solutions to the problems of Africa. If this country is not the only country has master the technologies needed by the continent, it is the most dynamic ‘, said Faure Gnassingbé during a high-level meeting in New York with Benjamin Netanyahu and other African leaders, including Paul Kagame of Rwanda in September 2016.
Israel, no offense to the captious, is the fruit of a struggle for national liberation and the nation-State a people who have been hit hard by history.
In fact, Israel is able to dialogue and to cooperate in a spirit of brotherhood and mutual understanding with the martyred people of the continent.
So this opportunity to help Africa’s renaissance would allow Israel to follow the biblical injunction to be ‘A light unto the Nations’.
‘ Among the despair of peoples, which, so far, is remained intractable, and including the tragedy cannot be understood fully by a Jew, there is another equally important issue, that of Africa (…) And although some will find fault, I said that when I have been witness to the redemption of the Jewish people, my people, I could then only wish the redemption of the peoples of Africa.’, said Theodore Herzl, the father of Zionism in 1897.
More than a century later, the Africa-Israel Summit is a form of tribute and the beginning of a new era for the African continent.