Chadian President Mahamat Déby announced during a visit to Jerusalem that the African nation would open an embassy in Israel.
“We are visiting Israel as friends and brothers, and are happy to have diplomatic relations with Israel. In 2019, it was decided to restore diplomatic relations between the countries, and today I am here to fulfill the dream and strengthen the relations even more,” said Deby during a tree-planting ceremony in the Jewish National Fund’s Grove of Nations in Jerusalem.
Israel was one of the first nations to recognize Chad’s independence from France in 1960 and a year later, the two countries established diplomatic relations. But Chad, a Muslim-majority country, broke ties in 1972 under Libyan pressure.
Israel and Chad resumed contacts in 2016 and restored their diplomatic relations in 2019.
Since then, the two countries have cooperated on issues such as climate change, agriculture, water management and health. Chad, which is fighting Boko Haram Islamic insurgents, has reportedly purchased Israeli arms.
The visit is the 39-year-old Deby’s first to Israel. Deby succeeded his father, Idriss Deby, who died in 2021.
