Israel forced to ‘postpone’ first Africa summit

‘Israel has had to indefinitely postpone a summit it had planned with African countries following a boycott by a number of those states.
The so-called Africa-Israel Summit, a first of its kind, had been due to take place in Togo’s capital, Lome, on October 23-27. Israeli officials had reportedly planned to discuss with African leaders ways to enhance cooperation in the fields of “technology, development, and security.”
In a statement released on Monday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced the postponement of the event without providing an alternative date.
“At the request of the president of Togo [Faure Gnassingbe] and following a joint consultation with the prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu), it was decided to postpone the convening of the Israel-Africa Summit, scheduled to take place in October in Lome,” the statement read.
The delay came amid reports that Sudan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritania had decided to boycott the gathering.
South African Ambassador to Lebanon and Syria Sean Benfeldt said last month that his country would not take part in the summit, which he said would be a step by Israel to normalize ties between Africa and a regime of “occupation.”’
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