Organized by Israel’s embassy in France (which paid for this reporter’s flight) and the American Jewish Committee’s Paris office, the one-day event brought together French and African journalists, diplomats, entrepreneurs and artists to examine the future of Israeli cooperation with African countries and businesses.
“The main message is that Israel has many assets to share with Africa, and it can create a win-win partnership,” AJC Paris director Anne-Sophie Sebban-Bécache told The Times of Israel. “The idea is to focus on those new areas where the relationship can thrive and to get the different actors to invest more in these relations.”
Among those attending the conference at the 150-year-old town hall of Paris’s 16th arrondissement, this message seems to be gaining purchase, even in some places where Israel has no overt diplomatic presence. The former defense and foreign minister of Mali — a country that does not recognize Israel — addressed the conference and the autonomous Somaliland region of Somalia, which also has no formal relations with Jerusalem, was represented by its defense minister.
Several African countries that have ties with Israel were represented at the conference. Senegal’s envoy to France spoke at the event, while Ghana and Madagascar sent officials. READ MORE
