Tanzania to Open Its First Embassy in Israel

In his first visit to Israel, Tanzania’s Foreign Minister Augustine Mahiga will attend the grand opening of his nation’s embassy.

By: Shlomo Cesena/JNS, and United with Israel Staff

Tanzania will open an embassy next week in Israel for the first time.

The grand opening of the embassy in Ramat Gan, in the Tel Aviv area, will be held on May 8 and will be attended by Tanzania’s Foreign Minister Augustine Mahiga.

It will be Mahiga’s first visit to Israel.

Tanzania’s first ambassador to Israel, Daudi Masima, entered the role in June of last year. Prior to his appointment, Tanzania was represented by Honorary Consul Kasbian Nuriel Chirich, who worked to deepen bilateral ties between the countries.

The opening of the new embassy follows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official trip to Africa in 2017, and an official visit last month by Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked to Tanzania.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made improving relations with African nations a priority.

In his address to AIPAC in March 2016, Netanyahu observed that Israel has “diplomatic relations with 161 countries, more than at any time in our history.”

In July 2016, he made a historic trip to East Africa, where he visited Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia. Weeks later, the Republic of Guinea, a Muslim-majority African nation, restored diplomatic ties with Israel after a 49-year break.

In August, Senegal and Guinea, two Muslim-majority West African nations, sent their first-ever full-time ambassadors to Israel.

Israel has a long history of sharing its expertise with African countries, and Jerusalem hopes that stronger ties will lead to a shift in voting trends at the UN and other global forums, thus reversing what Netanyahu has labeled the “automatic majority against Israel.”