Chadian leader Idriss Deby Itno on Sunday became the first president of his country to visit Israel and pledged a new era of relations when meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decades after ties were severed. Both leaders called the visit "historic" as they met in Jerusalem with security issues high on the agenda. Netanyahu said as they spoke to journalists after their meeting that "we never fully stopped our contacts ... but we are now expanding them at a very rapid rate".
"And we wish to do so in all areas, first of all in fighting terrorism." He said he hoped to visit the Muslim-majority central African nation. Deby spoke of the two countries committing to a new era of cooperation with "the prospect of reestablishing diplomatic relations".
But Deby also highlighted the Palestinian cause, saying pursuing relations with Israel did not change his country's concern for the long-stalled peace process. Chad remains "deeply attached to the peace process between Israel and Palestine", he said. The two men were to hold further discussions over dinner. Deby also met Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday evening. Chadian security sources say the country has acquired Israeli equipment to help battle rebels in the country's north. Chad is also one of several African states engaged in Western-backed operations against Boko Haram and Islamic State jihadists in West Africa.
Earlier this month, the United States donated military vehicles and boats worth $1.3 million (1.1 million euros) to Chad as part of the campaign against Islamist militancy in the country. Netanyahu portrayed the visit as the result of hard-won diplomatic efforts, referring to his three visits to Africa over the last couple years and his surprise trip to Oman in October.
The visit to Oman, a major coup for Netanyahu, was an apparent sign of Israeli progress in improving ties with Gulf countries. Frozen peace efforts and Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian territory have been obstacles to Israeli attempts to win official recognition from countries in the Gulf.
But there has long been talk of under-the-radar contacts, particularly over Iran, which is the enemy both of Israel and Gulf states. Netanyahu said "there will be more such visits in Arab countries very soon", without providing details. Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab nations with peace treaties with Israel. Pressure from Muslim African nations, accentuated by the 1967 and 1973 wars between Israel and its neighbours, led a number of African states to drop their relations with the Jewish state. But in recent years, Israel has held out the prospect of cooperation on a range of issues, from security to technology and agriculture, to improve ties on the continent. Diplomatic relations between Israel and Chad, a country of some 15 million people, were severed in 1972. Deby is one of Africa's longest-serving leaders. He took over the arid, impoverished nation in 1990 and won a disputed fifth term in April 2016.
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