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Israel Foreign Ministry head visits unnamed African Muslim country

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Israel’s Foreign Ministry head has visited an unnamed Muslim African country, following a short trip to West Africa.

Earlier this week, Dore Gold, director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, visited Guinea, where he met President Alfa Conde and ten government ministers, including Guinea’s foreign minister, in the country’s capital Conakry. On his way back to Israel from West Africa, Gold stopped over in an unnamed Muslim African country with which Israel currently has no formal diplomatic relations. Due to security considerations, Gold stayed in the country for just a few hours.

The visit comes as part of a wider Israeli diplomatic effort to bolster ties with African states. In July, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli head of government to visit Africa for decades, visiting Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda, in an attempt to strengthen diplomatic, security and commercial ties. Several of the leaders he met had pledged to push for Israel’s reinstatement as an observer at the African Union regional bloc.

Shortly after Netanyahu’s African trip, Gold met with the Chief of Staff of the Guinean President’s Office in Paris, where they signed a joint statement announcing the renewal of relations. Ties between the two countries were cut following the 1967 Six-Day War. Gold has since travelled to Chad in central Africa, another country with which Israel has no formal diplomatic relations.

Two weeks ago, Netanyahu announced his intention to visit several West African countries by the end of the year. It is hoped that this endeavour will include a summit with leaders of the fifteen-member Economic Community of West African States, known as ECOWAS. The bloc includes Mali and Niger, two other Muslim states which have no diplomatic ties with Israel.

Meanwhile, Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé is planning to host an Israeli-African summit on “security and development” in his country’s capital towards the start of next year, which he hopes will include leaders from across Africa.