Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
मनोहर पर्रिकर रक्षा अध्ययन एवं विश्लेषण संस्थान

Israel’s Changing Africa Relations

Jatin Kumar
He worked at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses from 2016 to 2023 read more
Commentary

Israel’s relations with African countries go back to the late 1950s when it began extending significant support to many African countries undergoing decolonisation.1 Since then the relations have experienced many fluctuations with a major shift seen in the past few years. There has been an accelerated improvement under the premiership of Benjamin Netanyahu, who proactively pursues an African region centric ‘Return to Africa policy’.

The relations began to flourish with the setting up of an Israeli consulate in Accra (Ghana) in 1956.2 The decade spanning 1956 to late 1960s marked a golden period in Israel-African relations under the leadership of then Foreign Minister Golda Meir.3 Israel successfully established diplomatic missions in 32 African countries till the mid-1960s and under Meir’s initiative fostered closer relations with leaders such as Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya.4   Furthermore, Israel offered considerable aid to the newly independent countries in areas such as agriculture, medicine, defence, infrastructure, setting up of educational and professional training institutions. This benefited Israel since these new countries served as favourable markets for Israeli products.

The above engagements were guided by the Israeli foreign policy interest of attracting a large number of votes which these newly independent African countries held in the different international bodies such as the United Nation (UN).5 Israel intended on leveraging these votes to overcome international isolation and gain global acceptance.

Israel enjoyed cordial ties with the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which was formed in 1963 and hosted a delegation of conciliation in 1971, comprising Presidents of Senegal, Nigeria, Zaire and Cameroon in order to ensure advancement of peace with its neighbouring countries.6   In addition, around 30 Israeli missions commenced operation in various African countries until 1973 “and hundreds of experts from the Israel Foreign Ministry’s Centre for International Cooperation (MASHAV) guided, trained and managed large projects in all these fields”.7

The relations underwent a rough phase in 1967 with the defeat of the Arabs in the June war “as Israel began to be perceived as a colonizing state”.8 The relations were further strained due to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war which resulted in many Sub-Saharan African countries severing diplomatic relations with Israel and inclining towards Arab countries. It allowed them to receive cheap oil and financial aid from the Arab states during the global oil crisis which gripped the region at that time.9 The diplomatic engagements were substituted by business and covert military ties between Israel and Africa in the 1970s.10

The 1980s witnessed a gradual improvement in ties between Israel and countries such as Zaire, Liberia, Cote D’Ivoire and Cameroon. These positive developments continued into the late 1990s, when official ties between Israel and another 39 African countries were re-established.11 This was encouraged by the signing of the Oslo Peace agreement between Israel-PLO in 1993 and the peace treaty with Jordan in 1994, which successfully eliminated the previously existing political obstacles preventing African countries from reaching out to Israel.12 A US-tilted unipolar world in the post-cold war period provided a conducive environment for the normalisation of ties.  

Israel’s Return to Africa

Since the mid-2000s, Israel’s engagement with the African continent has intensified through the signing of various agreements and investment programs aimed at infrastructural development and aiding the agriculture and energy sectors. Many Israeli firms are operating in Africa such as Innovation: Africa, which have shared their technological expertise with villages in African countries such as Senegal, Cameroon, South Africa, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia.13

The ties between Israel and some of the African countries were revitalised in 2016 with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s state visit to Africa (Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda). This was followed by a visit of President of Chad, Idriss Deby, to Israel in November 2018. Furthermore, in April 2019, Israel opened its embassy in Kigali (Capital of Rwanda) and operationalised direct flight between Tel Aviv and Kigali. 14 All the above initiatives were in pursuance of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ‘Return to Africa policy’ and his constant efforts helped establish diplomatic ties with countries such as Guinea (2016), Chad (2019) and Rwanda (2019).

Apart from diplomatic outreach, Israel’s engagement with Africa includes investment in areas such as green energy, agricultural productivity enhancement and provision of clean water.  To effectuate the same Israel and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) signed a MoU in June 2017.15

As part of this agreement, Israel based Energiya Global committed an investment to the tune of $1 billion by 2021 aimed at green power projects in 15 West African countries.16 The private sector participation has been equally forthcoming as evident by initiatives such as provision of water efficient seed to farmers in the agriculture sector. Israeli companies such as Innovation: Africa and NUFiltration have played a significant role in providing clean water to various African countries. To help eradicate Cholera in Cameroon, in 2018, Israeli Ambassador started a programme to install NUFiltration water purification system in the country.17 Similar technologies are also being used in areas of Ghana (Pediatorkorpe) where kidney failure due to polluted water is common.

In the defence and security domain, the emerging challenges in the African region have further expanded the opportunities for engagement between Israel and Africa. The security threat caused by the groups such as Boko Haram and Al-Shabab have necessitated security innovations in the region and in such a situation Israel has proved to be a dependable technology provider.18 As a result, the African region, especially Sub-Saharan Africa has emerged as an appealing market for Israel’s sophisticated defence equipment and technologies19 , with its defence exports reaching $275 million in 2016.20

Israel’s relationship with the African countries is also vital from its security perspective. For instance, Sudan has been a major irritant for Israel since the late 1940s, participating in the 1948 and 1967 wars against it. It has also served as a smuggling route for weapons to Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip.21 However, the relations with Sudan have significantly improved in the last few years.

Conclusion

Israel’s outreach to Africa has been an integral part of its ‘peripheral diplomacy doctrine’22 of the 1950s and 1960s which seems to be revived in Netanyahu’s ‘Return to Africa policy’. Additionally, varied factors such as fear of expansion of Iranian influence in the African region have also compelled Israel to engage more actively with Africa.

The African region holds immense potential in terms of the market it offers for defence, agriculture, energy and other commercial goods. Since the African economies are in their nascent growth stage, Israel can benefit from its exports to Africa of goods and services in the fields of tourism, health, irrigation, to name a few. Israeli investment in Africa in the form of establishment of firms and introduction of its technological know-how in the rural areas, have helped create new employment opportunities.

Thus, Israel’s relations with Africa will benefit both in the economic, political and security arena. Although the opportunities for engagement are vast, there are a few challenges that need to be addressed. Jihadist groups in East Africa have time and again threatened Israel’s interests in the region. Though this will hamper Israel’s development initiatives, it provides scope for collaboration between Israel and African countries in tackling terrorism related problems. 

While the smoothening of Israel’s relations with some of the Arab countries has removed a major roadblock for improving ties with the African region, the progress on Israel-Palestinian peace process could create a conducive environment for deepening Israel-Africa ties. However, internal stability in the political and security domains within Africa will remain prerequisites for ensuring the same.   

Dr. Jatin Kumar is Research Analyst, West Asia Centre, MP-IDSA

Keywords: Africa, Israel
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