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Congo to appoint first ambassador to Israel in 20 years

March 2, 2020 at 1:54 pm

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) welcomes President of Democratic Republic of Congo Felix Tshisekedi (L) with an official ceremony in Berlin, Germany on November 15, 2019 [Abdülhamid Hoşbaş / Anadolu Agency]

An ambassador to Israel is being appointed by the leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo after a two-decade gap, reported the Times of Israel.

President Felix Tshisekedi also announced at the AIPAC Policy Conference that he will be visiting Israel to deepen relations and advance bilateral cooperation and said he was inspired in part by his Christian faith, thanking US evangelicals for supporting Israel.

“After more than 20 years of inadequate representation, I will name an ambassador in the coming days,” he said, according to AFP.

“I invite Israel to raise its diplomatic and economic presence in my country as high as relations can go between our two states and peoples,” said Tshisekedi, who took office last year after he won his country’s own elections in late 2018.

“This nation is a source of inspiration,” he continued. “It teaches us what man can do in such a short span of time when he has drive, resilience and, especially, divine grace and favour.”

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Tshisekedi said the ambassador would be posted in Tel Aviv but that a commercial section would be based in Jerusalem — where the United States and Guatemala have already moved their embassies after the US recognised it as the capital of Israel in defiance of international law and United Nations resolutions.

Netanyahu has made relations with sub-Saharan Africa a priority and has visited Africa three times over the past three years, with Israel offering assistance in technology, agriculture and health care to developing countries.

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