(Communicated by the Prime Minister's media advisor)

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, today (Tuesday, 28 November 2017), welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Presidential Palace and invited PM Netanyahu to sit next to him at a festive lunch held in honor of the President's inauguration. 

Presidents, delegations and ambassadors will attend the lunch, at which PM Netanyahu will deliver greetings.

PM Netanyahu has already met on the sidelines with the presidents of Gabon, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Botswana and Namibia, as well as with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

This afternoon Prime Minister Netanyahu will hold marathon bilateral diplomatic meetings.

Following is an excerpt from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks today (Tuesday, 28 November 2017), on the occasion of the inauguration of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta:

"We would like to work with you and with every one of your countries to electrify Africa. We believe in Africa. So for every, every one of your initiatives, there will be an initiative on our part to seize the future, to make life better and safer for your people. It's good for you, it's good for us, it's good for Africa. Now there is a challenge. The challenge that we face is also security. There is a savage disease. It rampages so many countries. Boko-Haram, A-Shabab, the awful Jihadists in the Sinai. This is a threat to all of us, and I believe that we can cooperate with other countries between us and with others. And if we work together we will defeat the barbarians. Our people deserve better, we can provide it for them.

And the last point, Israel is working in water, in agriculture, in cyber security, in IT, in every field, in health, every field of human endeavor. We believe that we can better lives for people everywhere, but first in Africa. This is my third visit to Africa in 18 months.

This is my third visit to Africa in 18 months, and my second visit here in Kenya. We believe in the future of Africa. We love Africa and I would like very much, not only to cooperate on individual basis with each of your countries, with Kenya and with each of your countries, but also with the African Union. And I hope that we will all find a way to have Israel become an observer status in the African Union because we can help, we can not only observe, we can help build together a better future for Africa. This is our goal and I thank you, I thank you all for your great friendship, thank you, Uhuru for your leadership, thank you for your friendship, and as we say for ages, next year in Jerusalem, you are all invited."