​(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson) 

President Reuven Rivlin held a working meeting this evening (Sunday, 25 November 2018) with Idriss Deby Itno, President of Chad, who is visiting Israel
 
“It is a great honor to welcome you here to Beit HaNasi in Jerusalem. This is a historical visit. We are delighted to renew links with Chad after too many years,” said the president. “Chad is an important country, a country that fights terror, and Israel is at your side in this just war. We see great importance in developing relations with Africa, the cradle of civilization. For us, Africa is the future, Chad is the future, and Israel wants to share its experience with you.”
 
President Rivlin added that he hoped to see the full and official renewal of diplomatic relations soon, and that the Ambassador of Chad to the State of Israel will present his credentials at Beit HaNasi. “With your help, I want to call on the other African states with whom we do not have relations to be part of this change, and to see Israel as a partner and an ally.”
 
President Idriss Deby Itno of Chad thanked the president for his welcome and said “I would like to thank you for welcoming me here at Beit HaNasi. This is an official visit and certainly an impressive one.”
 
“Relations between us were cut in 1972,” he continued, “but not totally. Although there were no ambassadors of heads of state, relations continued all the time and so it is logical that eventually there would be an official invitation, and so I decided to accept it. This is a breaking of the ice, you might say. What is important is the future. The future of our relations, the future of our peoples and the future of Israel and Africa. We are here and want to renew diplomatic relations and your country is an important partner for us.” The president also noted that “your country, just like our country, fights terrorism. Of course, your country is extremely developed and is developing in science and technology, and we are asking to find ways to cooperate.”
 
President Deby: “Of course, peace has not yet come to the region. Peace is what every people needs to live a good life. I want to say to you that diplomatic relations with Israel would not make the Palestinians disappear. This is a critical issues that must be dealt with, and which generations have experience. You Israelis have also experienced a difficult history, but it is important that people talk. It is very easy to pull the trigger but it is hard to stop the fighting. There is great importance in finding a solution to this problem, a solution that reflects all the decisions taken by the UN Security Council on the matter.”
 
“Africa is the continent of the future. And your country has a place in that future,” he concluded.