Israel’s prime minister says the leader of the African nation of Chad is arriving for a historic visit.
Benjamin Netanyahu says he will host President Idriss Deby on Sunday in Jerusalem. He says they’ll meet privately and then give a joint press statement before dining together.
It’s the first ever visit of a president of Chad, which broke off relations with Israel in 1972. Netanyahu calls the visit “another diplomatic breakthrough.”
Netanyahu has made great efforts to extend Israeli diplomacy to Africa and has visited the continent several times in recent years. It’s part of an overall policy of seeking allies among developing countries that have historically sided with the Palestinians at the U.N. and other international forums. Chad is a Muslim-majority, Arabic-speaking country in central Africa.
