Prime minister of Muslim-majority nation Mali to visit Israel in coming weeks
Prime minister of Muslim-majority nation Mali to visit Israel in coming weeks
By World Israel News Staff
According to Israel’s Channel 13, the Jewish state is preparing to welcome Mali’s Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga in the coming weeks.
The historic visit represents another step in Israeli premiere Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy of improving ties with nations in Africa, including those with Muslim majorities, such as Mali.
According to the report, Maiga’s visit will occur before Israeli elections at the beginning of April.
In 1973, Mali cut ties with Israel in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War during an era in which a number of African nations selected Arab allies over the Jewish state.
The announcement regarding the Malian leader’s visit follows a 2018 meeting between Netanyahu and Maiga in Liberia, after which Netanyahu’s office announced the beginning of a new era of “warming” relations between the two nations.
Mali joins other African countries that recently reestablished ties with Israel following decades of severed relations, including Chad, a nation from which Netanyahu just returned. Netanyahu traveled to Chad to officially relaunch ties after 47 years last week.
In response to the development, Islamic terrorists claiming to be affiliated with al-Qaeda killed 10 United Nations peacekeepers in Chad, and injured another 25, blaming the attack on the government’s decision to renew ties with Israel.
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