JOHANNESBURG – Israel says it will renew diplomatic ties with the largely Muslim African country of Guinea, the latest step in Israel’s courtship of the continent.
Israel’s foreign ministry announced Wednesday that the two countries would restore ties after 49 years.
The news comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s four-nation Africa tour earlier this month. It was the first visit to sub-Saharan Africa by a sitting Israeli prime minister in nearly three decades.
Israel is pursuing closer security and other ties with Africa. It also wants African states to support it at the United Nations, where the Palestinians were recognized as a non-member observer state in 2012.
Israel’s foreign ministry lists several Muslim or largely Muslim countries that have no current ties with it. Many are in northern and West Africa.
