Press Release
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s words at the beginning of his meeting with the President of Togo Faure Gnassingbe:
Togo is very important to us and Africa is very important to us. We have a great relationship and a great friendship. We want to deepen our cooperation and friendship for the continued success of Togo and also for the continued strengthening of Israel’s friendship with your country.
Your visit comes at a very important time for Israel-Africa relations. I recently returned from a visit to African where I met with the leaders of seven African countries. It was a very successful visit. I must say that I think the sky is the limit in all areas: water, agriculture, technology, health, education, tourism, security, and any other area.
I look forward to doing the same in West Africa. I can say that I spoke with your brother-in-law about this, he is an important figure in ECOWAS. I would like to talk to you about our mutual relations, but also how Togo can further help us in our great return to Africa. I think this should have happened a long time ago and it is important for African countries and Israel.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude for Togo’s position in the international forums. You were consistently friendly to us there and you stood not only for Israel, you stood for the truth time and time again. We remember our friends and we appreciate them. In this spirit, we welcome you, our great friend, to Jerusalem.
The statue you see there is of the founder of modern Zionism, the revival of the Jewish national movement, thanks to whom the Jews could regroup in the land of our ancestors and found a Jewish state. His name was Theodor Herzl and he is a sort of a “modern Moses”. But few people know that Herzl said: ‘After I finish my struggle to free my people, I will devote my life to free the people of Africa.’ Well, the peoples of Africa are free. And now we have the Jewish state that Herzl envisioned and the sovereign states of Africa and we are joining hands to ensure our common future of prosperity, security and peace.
Credit: Haim Tzach, L.A.M.
Prime Minister’s Communications
