During his visit to Uganda on Monday to commemorate a risk operation carried out by Israeli commandos 40 years ago in Entebbe airport, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed to the changes in Israeli-African relations, saying that “Africa is a continent on the rise”.
The Israeli prime minister held a summit with seven African leaders in Uganda, along with representatives from 50 Israeli companies.
Netanyahu added that “after many decades, I can say Israel is coming back to Africa, and Africa is coming back to Israel”.
It seems that Israel is trying to boost its economic relations with several African countries. It is planning to launch a $13m aid package for that reason.
According to an Israeli statement, Israel will provide training to African states on “domestic security”.
The next stop for Netanyahu will be Kenya, where he will hold a meeting with Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta.
This is the first visit of an Israeli prime minister to sub-Saharan countries in 40 years.
Due to the Arab-Israeli conflict, Arab-African countries, led by Egypt, put pressure on other African countries to cut ties with Israel.
African nations in the United Nations always condemned the Israeli occupation in the West Bank, and its blockade on the Gaza Strip.
