Israeli foreign minister attends African Union summit in Kenya to strengthen ties with the continent

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen attended a bi-annual meeting of the African Union in Kenya on Sunday.

The Jewish state currently holds observer status in the African Union, despite a serious incident at the last summit in February, when the Israeli observer delegation in Addis Ababa was removed from the opening ceremony over an issue of credentials.

Cohen was invited to attend the gathering in Nairobi by Kenyan President William Ruto, as well as Kenya’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfred Mutua.

The Israeli foreign minister stressed the importance of the meeting amid the Iranian regime’s intention to increase its influence in Africa.

"The diplomatic visit to Nairobi is of regional and strategic importance against the backdrop of Iran's attempts to expand its influence on the continent," stated Cohen.

"Kenya's regional position makes it a key partner of Israel in the East African region," he added.

Cohen reportedly met with the leader of an unnamed African country that currently does not have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. While the specific country was not named, Cohen’s office revealed that Jerusalem was pursuing “normalization contacts with several African countries including Niger, Mali and Mauritania.”

Cohen thanked Ruto and Mutua “for their efforts to promote Israel’s position on the continent and to open doors for the State of Israel in countries on the continent with which we do not yet have diplomatic relations.”

Kenya is one of Israel’s closest allies in Africa. In May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Ruto in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu praised the Kenyan-Israeli ties and stressed that “Kenya could serve as a gateway for trade and international cooperation with the rest of Africa.” 

However, the Jewish state's observer status in the AU is not without a fair amount of past and recent controversy, as African Union member states have been deeply divided on Israel's participation.

In February, Israel's Ambassador to Africa Sharon Bar-Li was removed from the conference hall for not having an invitation, despite her status as an "accredited observer with access badges.” 

The incident led to the Israeli diplomatic team being expelled from the summit's opening ceremony and a number of Christians in Africa praying for Israel’s relationship with the African Union to be restored.

In February 2022, 55 member states of the organization debated whether or not to revoke Israel's observer status in the African Union, a status that was only regained in 2021, despite strong opposition from South Africa and Algeria – two powerful member states that are hostile critics of Israel and strong supporters of the Palestinian Authority. 

Founded in 2002, the African Union (AU) has traditionally been a consensus-driven organization. Until the early 1970s, Israel had excellent relations with most African states under the leadership of the late Israeli Foreign Minister Golda Meir. The Yom Kippur War of 1973 marked the beginning of most African nations severing their diplomatic ties with the Jewish state due to pressure from Arab nations.