Monrovia – Long before the civil war, Israel had cemented its feet on Liberian soil. The Executive Mansion, until the demise of Samuel Doe, stood as a testament to Israeli handiwork as the seat of the Liberian presidency for decades.
Report by Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
“The visit of PM Netanyahu will draw the attention in the Israeli business community to the opportunities in this region, and will bring along more Israeli companies to have trade and investments in the region, Actually, the first one is already here.”
“When the Israeli solar energy producer Energiya Global heard about the upcoming visit, they had sent a team to Liberia, and now they are about to sign a contract with Liberia to build solar energy power plant in Liberia – Ami Mehl, Ambassador
The Jewish nation was on the verge of completing a fortified Ministry of National defense when the civil war commenced.
So, when Benjamin Netanyahu graces the annual conference of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Saturday, he may have his plate full of ideas as he addresses 15 nations with a combined population of some 320 million.
The economic prospects will no doubt be appetizing for both Israel and a region with enormous potential marred by wars, economic decline and corruption.
Mr. Netanyahu who was invited to the 51th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Community in Monrovia will be the first foreign leader ever to address the summit of the 15-nation West African regional body. It will also be PM Netanyahu’s first trip outside Israel after hosting President Donald Trump in Jerusalem.”
The trip is also the first for any Israeli leader to West Africa since the late prime minister Golda Meir visited Nigeria in the 1960s.
Last year, Mr. Netanyahu toured East Africa, before embarking on the four-day historic trip he had remarked that ‘Israel returns to Africa, just as Africa is returning to Israel. In seizing the future, Israel is coming back to Africa in more than a verbal way.’
Mr. Ami Mehl, Israeli Ambassador accredited to Liberia and Ghana told FrontPageAfrica Thursday that the Prime Minister will be looking to strengthen economic ties and boost Israel’s know-how specifically, in the areas of water technology, agriculture, energy and cyber-security.
Israeli ties with Africa date back to the 1950s barely few years after it was created in 1948.
Ambassador Mehl recalled a once stormy relationship he says, has now been resurrected and is on positive footing.
Said Ambassador Mehl: “Historically, from the rise of independence in Africa and until 1973 (The Yom Kippur War) Israel had very close relations with the continent, but they were suspended by the African states (most of them) due to a pressure from the Arab world.”
“It was a mistake, and Liberia was one of the first ones to realize it, and to renew the diplomatic contacts with Israel in 1983.
Ambassador Mehl said Israel had started to reopen embassies on the continent, and in 2009 the Minister of foreign affairs of Israel, Avigdor Liberman, had a long visit to some East and West African states.
“He repeated that visit in 2014, and in summer 2016, PM Netanyahu payed a visit to East Africa, promising that West Africa is as well on our agenda, and now he pays the first visit to West Africa, to attend, as the special guest of honor the ECOWAS summit.”
“This visit is a new stage in the Israel – Africa relations, proving the deep interest Israel has in Africa, and the will of Israel to restore the relations we used to have till 1973.”
Asked what could the ECOWAS community and Liberia in particular hope to gain from the renewed interest from Israel, Ambassador Mehl averred that good relations are based on the gains that the two parties can gain, and not about the interest of one side.
Nevertheless he explained that, to understand the gain of ECOWAS countries, one should understand what is the State of Israel. “I would say that Israel is a developed country, who got the nick name “The start-up nation”.
Israel is one of the biggest hubs of innovation, with incredible successes in many different fields, like water treatment, water management, medicine, cyber security, agriculture, solar energy, communications and many other subjects.
The ECOWAS countries can learn from our experience in those areas and others, and enjoy it, because we put our emphasis on quality, and the ECOWAS countries deserve to get quality products. At the end of the day it’s much cheaper than getting chip products with low quality.”
Ambassador Mehl added that the visit of PM Netanyahu will draw the attention in the Israeli business community to the opportunities in the West African sub-region.
The visit, he added will also bring along more Israeli companies to have trade and investments in the region. He revealed that one such company, is already making its presence felt.
“When the Israeli solar energy producer Energiya Global heard about the upcoming visit, they had sent a team to Liberia, and now they are about to sign a contract with Liberia to built solar energy power plant in Liberia.”
More importantly, the ambassador added, the Prime Minister’s visit will open the door for more investment opportunities by Israeli firms in the region.
“Israel and Liberia have a long time good and close relations. We all remember very well that Liberia voted, in 1947 for the establishment of the state of Israel.”
“Liberia was one of the first African countries to renew the relations with Israel in 1983. Israeli companies built lots of the infrastructure of Liberia, as well as the Presidential mention.
Israeli company opened in Liberia one of the first and best cellular communication companies, who was sold lately to Orange, and many more. Israel sent assistance to Liberia during the Ebola epidemic, and is planning a special project on early childhood education.
The ties are good, and they are going to improve, for the benefit of the 2 countries.”
Regional countries may also be looking into possibilities of exploring expertise partnership with Israel on regional security issues.
In recent years, Israel has been making inroads in the region. Last December some seven ministers and top officials from more than a dozen Western African countries attended an agricultural conference in Israel, which was co-sponsored by ECOWAS and Mashav, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation.
The conference was aimed at improving ties between West Africa and Israel.
For West Africa, the visit by Netanyahu, who has made strengthening ties with Africa one of his main foreign policy goals, the benefits could be enormous. In the same vein, for Israel, an opportunity to explore a reservoir of massive resources and potential.
Regional leaders will be hoping that the visit open new doors to Israel’s agriculture, hi-tech and security know-how.
On the flip side, Netanyahu will also be looking to improve African nations’ voting record on Israel-related matters in international forums such as the United Nations Security Council or UNESCO.
The Jerusalem Post reported last week that Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to follow up his ECOWAS stop in Liberia with a similar visit to the Africa-Israel summit in Togo in October, where he is expected to meet with the leaders of 25 African countries to discuss cooperation in the fields of high-tech, security and development.
The string of renewed ties was preceded last July when former ECOWAS President Marcel Alain de Souza became the first leader of the organization to visit Israel. He met with Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin to discuss economic cooperation and regional security issues.
As Sirleaf’s leadership of the regional body comes to an end, the arrival of Prime Minister Netanyahu and regional leaders is poised to shine one last light on the Sirleaf who has enjoyed immense international support and spotlight since her election in 2005.