Israeli president asks Zambian president for help in improving relations with SA

Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema, who is currently on a state visit to Israel, met on Tuesday with Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, and is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Hichilema is the third Zambian president to visit Israel over the past decade. In February 2017, Netanyahu met Hichilema’s predecessor Edgar Lungu and in 2014 then-president Michael Sata came on a working vacation to Israel.

Israeli companies are active in Zambia in agriculture, water management, information technology, health, communications, defence, and more. Hichilema is eager to strengthen relations in all these fields, and to build connections between the people of both Zambia and Israel.

During the presidents’ meeting on Tuesday, they discussed Zambia’s involvement in trying to reduce tensions between neighboring states. Turning the conversation to South Africa, Herzog asked for Zambia’s help in improving relations between Israel and South Africa, which have soured considerably in recent years, reports The Jerusalem Post.

JNS reports that on Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with his Zambian counterpart Stanley Kakubo, with the two signing several cooperation agreements.

“Africa is blossoming and so is the potential for relations between Israel and countries on the continent,” said Cohen.

Last week, Cohen and his counterpart from the Ivory Coast, Kandia Camara, signed framework deals in the fields of agriculture, water and technology.

Cohen led a business delegation to the Israel-Ivory Coast Economic Forum in the West African nation.

The prior day, Cohen met with Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey in Accra, in a bid to strengthen Israel’s position within the African Union.

Earlier this month, Cohen met with a senior official of an African Muslim country with no diplomatic ties to the Jewish state.

The development occurred in the context of Israel’s push to expand the Abraham Accords and counter Iranian influence in Africa. The Foreign Ministry told Ynet News that “normalisation contacts are being held with several African countries, including Niger, Mali and Mauritania”.

The meeting took place during a 10-hour visit to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi at the invitation of the African nation’s president, William Ruto, and foreign minister, Alfred Mutua. While there, the top Israeli diplomat attended the African Union’s Mid-Year Coordination Meeting.

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