Last week, the Embassy of Israel in Nigeria, Abuja opened its door to Nigerian Journalists in commemoration of its 70 years as an Independent nation. The event was quite an interesting interactive session with the members of the press .
Welcoming the journalists, Barnea Hassid, the Chief Director Africa department 2 , overseeing West and Central Africa told the pressmen that he is glad that Israel is gradually making a comeback to Africa .He reiterated that it is the desire of the Jewish nation to have strong ties with Nigeria and the rest of Africa stressing that Africa and Israel
would be better off for it .
Mr. Barnea also said that Israel currently has ten embassies in Africa ,a far cry from the thirty that it had in the Seventies before Arab/Israel war of 1973 .And the country is doing all it can to make sure Africa and Israel improve ties .
On the home front, the Isreali Diplomat stressed Nigeria and Israel could partner in the areas of fighting terrorism , cybercrime , desertification ,climate change and food shortage .
On Terrorism,
Mr Barnea had this to say “Terrorism in
any part of the world should not be allowed. Many countries in the world are just getting to know about the effects of terrorism. Our country suffered from it before getting a solution.
We are ready to support any country that is willing to end terrorism because the aim of terrorists is to attack unarmed civilian populations.”
He also reiterated his country’s willingness to share with Nigeria the technological knowledge on how to boost agriculture and curb the menace of desertification.
The Diplomat also pleaded with Nigeria to relocate its embassy to
Jerusalem adding that it would boost the diplomatic ties between Nigeria and Israel .Lastly ,he used the occasion to invite President Buhari to visit his country .
Official Visit to Israel ..
“We are hoping to have Nigeria as a close friend, we will hope to have Nigerian President in Isreal.
We hope to develop our relations with Nigeria because when our Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with African leaders during the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) meeting in June 2017 in Monrovia, Nigerian president was
not in attendance,” Hassid added.
Hassid who said his country hopes to join the African Union because of its proximity to Africa.
Nigeria / Israeli Ties
Nigeria reestablished diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992 , since then Nigeria has benefited more with over fifty Israeli companies operating in Nigeria in the fields of construction, infrastructure, hi-tech, communications and IT, agriculture and water management. All these have created thousands of employment opportunities in the country .In turn, there are over 5,000 Nigerian companies and organizations that are currently
not in attendance,” Hassid added.
Last week, the embassy of Israel in Nigeria opened its door to Nigeria Journalists in commemoration of its 70 years as an Independent nation. The event was quite an interesting interactive session with the members of the press .
Welcoming the journalists, Barnea Hassid, the Chief Director Africa department 2 , overseeing West and Central Africa told the pressmen that he is glad that Israel is gradually making a comeback to Africa .He reiterated that it is the desire of the Jewish nation to have strong ties with Nigeria and the rest of Africa stressing that Africa and Israel
would be better off for it .
Mr. Barnea also said that Israel currently has ten embassies in Africa ,a far cry from the thirty that it had in the Seventies before Arab/Israel war of 1973 .And the country is doing all it can to make sure Africa and Israel improve ties .
On the home front, the Isreali Diplomat stressed Nigeria and Israel could partner in the areas of fighting terrorism , cybercrime , desertification ,climate change and food shortage .
On Terrorism,
Mr Barnea had this to say “Terrorism in
any part of the world should not be allowed. Many countries in the world are just getting to know about the effects of terrorism. Our country suffered from it before getting a solution.
We are ready to support any country that is willing to end terrorism because the aim of terrorists is to attack unarmed civilian populations.”
He also reiterated his country’s willingness to share with Nigeria the technological knowledge on how to boost agriculture and curb the menace of desertification.
The Diplomat also enjoined Nigerian Government to relocate its embassy to
Jerusalem adding that it would boost the diplomatic ties between Nigeria and Israel .Lastly ,he used the occasion to invite President Buhari to visit his country .
Official Visit to Israel ..
“We are hoping to have Nigeria as a close friend, we will hope to have Nigerian President in Isreal.
We hope to develop our relations with Nigeria because when our Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with African leaders during the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) meeting in June 2017 in Monrovia, Nigerian president was
not in attendance,” Hassid added.
Hassid who said his country hopes to join the African Union because of its proximity to Africa.
Nigeria / Israeli Ties
Nigeria reestablished diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992 , since then , Nigeria has benefited more ,with over fifty Israeli companies operating in Nigeria in the fields of construction, infrastructure, hi-tech, communications and IT, agriculture and water management. All these have created thousands of employment opportunities in the country .In turn, there are over 5,000 Nigerian companies and organizations that are currently operating in Israel these companies have helped in technology transfer from Israel to Nigeria .
