PM Netanyahu meets with West African leaders; end of crisis with Senegal

PM Netanyahu meets with West African leaders

  •   PM Netanyahu meets with West African leaders; end of crisis with Senegal
  •                      Kobi Gideon-GPO
     

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Sunday, 4 June 2017), following the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) conference, met with Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and then with Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Mali is an Islamic country that does not have diplomatic relations with Israel; the two leaders agreed on the warming of relations between them.

    Prime Minister Netanyahu also met with Togo President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe and Guinea President Alpha Conde, and is due to meet with Cape Verde President Jorge Carlos Fonseca and Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara.

    Prime Minister Netanyahu met on the fringe of the ECOWAS conference with Senegal President Macky Sall. The two announced an end to the crisis between their countries.

    Israel will immediately return its ambassador to Senegal and Senegal will support Israel's candidacy as an observer to the African Union. The two countries will also resume joint projects that were suspended in the wake of UNSC Resolution #2334, which Senegal proposed along with New Zealand.

    Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Sall also agreed on cooperation in security and agriculture. The Prime Minister invited the Senegalese Foreign Minister to resume his visit to Israel, which had been suspended as a result of the crisis.