Netanyahu at 2016 African Summit
Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO
Netanyahu says Togo under pressure to cancel Africa-Israel summit
According to African officials, the PA pressuring Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé to cancel Africa-Israel summit scheduled to take place in Lomé, and is also urging Muslim countries in Africa not to attend, saying that going to the conference will show support for Israel and be a setback for the Palestinian struggle.
Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé has faced pressures to cancel an Africa-Israel summit that the West African nation is due to host in October, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.
“Various pressures have been placed on the Togolese president to cancel the conference,” Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting. “These pressures are the best testimony to the success of our policy, of Israel’s presence in Africa."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a summit with African leaders in Uganda on July 4, 2016 (Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Gnassingbé will arrive in Israel for a five-day visit on Monday and Togo will be hosting some 25-20 African states for the first Africa-Israel Summit in late October.
The meeting in the Togolese capital Lomé will bring together business, economic and security figures from Africa and Israel and will focus on development, trade, technology, counter-terrorism and agriculture.
“Of course I will speak with the Togolese president about ways to deepen and expand Israel’s presence in Africa,” the prime minister said.
The October summit will be Netanyahu’s third visit to Africa in just over a year. Netanyahu said his Africa policy had a clear goal: “to bring Israel back to Africa in a big way."
He also noted that last week Cape Verde announced that it would no longer vote against Israel at the United Nations. “This is important and it attests to success,” the prime minister said.
Meanwhile two Muslim majority African nations Senegal and Guinea will establish diplomatic representation with Israel for the first time this week. Talla Fall, Senegal’s ambassador to Egypt and Amara Camara, Guinea’s ambassador to France, will take up positions as non-resident ambassadors to Israel and will present their credentials to President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday.
Article reprinted with permission from TPS .
