BICOM

On the second day of his tour to Africa, Israel’s Prime Minister visited the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, and vowed to strengthen Israeli-African cooperation.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Kenyan President Uhura Kenyatta said: “We believe that there is need for us as a continent once again to reengage Israel on a more positive basis, with an understanding that our partnership can help make this world that much more secure.”

In particular, Kenyatta pledged: “Kenya will continue to push, to see how Israel can regain her observer position at the African Union.”

At the behest of Libya, Israel’s observer status was ended in 2002. PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the first Israeli prime minister in office to visit Kenya, said that regaining observer status “has very great significance for us”.

Kenyatta emphasised the importance of security cooperation between Israel and Africa. He said: “It would be foolhardy for one to sit back and say that, faced with those challenges [of terrorism], Kenya and Africa cannot engage in Israel in this particular issue.”

He added: “I strongly believe it is critical for us to re-evaluate our relations with the State of Israel, given the challenges we on the African continent especially are faced with today.”

Israel and Kenya have enjoyed significant security cooperation since an Israeli airliner and a hotel popular with Israeli tourists in Kenya were attacked by Islamist terrorists in 2002. A bilateral economic agreement was signed yesterday, and Israel also agreed to open a commercial attache’s office in Nairobi. Addressing around 80 Israeli business people accompanying him on the trip, Netanyahu encouraged them to invest in Kenya, saying “the opportunities I think are great”.

Netanyahu will today visit Rwanda, before ending his trip in Ethiopia tomorrow. Israel played a major role in helping newly independent African countries develop in the 1960s, but relations effectively ended in the 1970s when Arab states pressured them to cut ties with Israel.