Israel will open a new embassy in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday at a meeting with that country’s President Paul Kagame, after the two men attended the inauguration of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi.
Netanyahu and Kagame also discussed the possibility of opening a direct air link between Israel and Rwanda, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
The leaders of 11 African nations attended the inauguration of Kenya’s president.
In remarks delivered at Kenyatta’s inauguration, Netanyahu said Israel like to work with Kenya and “with every one of your countries to electrify Africa. We believe in Africa. So for every, every one of your initiatives, there will be an initiative on our part to seize the future, to make life better and safer for your people. It’s good for you, it’s good for us, it’s good for Africa.”
Netanyahu also pointed out that Israel — and Kenya — both face the challenge of security, calling it a “savage disease” that “rampages so many countries, Boko-Haram, A-Shabab, the awful jihadists in the Sinai. This is a threat to all of us and I believe that we can cooperate with other countries between us and with others, and if we work together we will defeat the barbarians. Our people deserve better; we can provide it for them.”