Iran and Israel Vie for Influence in Africa

By Henry Srebrnik, [Moncton, NB] Times & Transcript

On July 22, Israel’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Aleligne Admasu was received by Moussa Faki, chair of the African Union (AU) Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and was accredited as an observer to that body. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called it a day of celebration. “This diplomatic achievement is the result of efforts by the Foreign Ministry, the African Division, and Israeli embassies on the continent.”

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, as most African states south of the Sahara achieved independence, Israel was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with them and to offer them assistance. Mashav, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, was founded in 1958 at the initiative of then Foreign Minister Golda Meir following a month-long tour of West Africa.

As more African countries attained independence from European colonial powers, within a few years Israeli ambassadors were operating in 33 African capitals. But didn’t last. After the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars, 30 countries severed their diplomatic relations with Israel.

However, there has been steady progress with reviving relations at some level with Israel. Currently, of the 55 members of the African Union, 46 have diplomatic relations with Israel, the most recent diplomatic ties being with Sudan and Morocco, achieved in the framework of the Abraham Accords.

Today, the only holdouts are Algeria, the Comoros, Djibouti, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia, and Tunisia, mostly Arab states.

Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu prioritized Israel’s relations with Africa during the latter half of his 12 years in office. His July 2016 visit to Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia was followed a year later when he attended the annual summit of heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the Liberian capital of Monrovia. “I believe in Africa, I believe in its potential,” Netanyahu told the African leaders. “It is a continent on the rise.”

So it was not surprising that representatives of more than 50 Israeli firms accompanied Netanyahu on his 2016 African tour. In fact, in many cases, Israeli investments, especially in the water, agriculture, energy, and information technology sectors of several of Africa’s emerging economies, helped pave the way for the renewal of diplomatic cooperation.

For example, since its establishment in 2008, the Israeli nonprofit Innovation: Africa has used Israeli solar and water technologies to deliver clean water to nearly three million rural villagers in 10 African countries: Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Not surprisingly, cooperation between Israel and African states also involves political objectives, in particular fighting terrorism and extremism. Niger President Mohamed Bazoum, on a visit to Germany in July, said his country needed assistance to fight Islamic State affiliates, which have been taking over swaths of territory in Mali and Niger.

“The situation has become worse, especially in Mali, unfortunately,” he indicated July 8 in a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Israel is also trying to counter Iranian influence. Back in 2012, Ayatollah Khamenei identified Africa as a key aspect of Iran’s geopolitical orbit, saying that “the African continent is part of the main framework of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Newly elected Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has declared that his government is devoted to deepening cooperation with African countries. In February, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stressed that “Iran’s parliament emphasizes strengthening cooperation on the important continent of Africa.”

In June, a specialized office for exporting Iranian biotechnological products started operating in Uganda, and Tehran University of Medical Sciences has signed an agreement with the African Health Development Center, located in Ghana, to cooperate in the field of medical nanotechnology. Iran also aims to establish an economic zone in Kenya by the end of this year.

Tehran sees the African continent as an important arena in its global struggle for influence and is a growing presence there. Iranian officials believe it is an opportunity for Tehran to contest the dominant western world order, which the Islamic Republic considers a threat to its identity and discourse. So there is an increasing possibility of confrontation between Israel and Iran over influence on the continent.