Visiting DRC, Herzog says world should focus on Africa’s humanitarian crises, not ‘obsessively on Israel’

Following his trip to Zambia yesterday, President Isaac Herzog held a state visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo today, where he met with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi.

Herzog was welcomed with an official ceremony at the presidential residence in Kinshasa before the two leaders held a diplomatic meeting, according to a statement from his office.

Following their talks, Herzog urged the international community to pay greater attention to Africa’s humanitarian needs, stating: “There are major humanitarian crises in Africa, such as in Sudan, and I hope that the eyes of the world will turn there, rather than focusing obsessively on Israel.”

The president said Israel plans to deepen bilateral ties with the DRC, saying Jerusalem “will now act to upgrade [its] relations” with the Central African country.

He praised the two countries’ “valuable alliance in the pursuit of justice in the international arena,” applauding Kinshasa’s upcoming tenure on the United Nations Security Council, and thanked Tshisekedi for supporting Israel’s standing in the African Union, adding that “there is no reason for African nations to push us aside.”

“Conflicts are not confined to the Middle East,” he continued. “I hope that Africa, too, will receive the world’s attention and assistance in resolving its conflicts and crises,” he said, hailing US President Donald Trump’s efforts “to achieve a peace agreement between [the DRC] and Rwanda.”

Herzog’s visits this week to the DRC and Zambia — where Israel opened an embassy in August — are part of ongoing efforts by the Foreign Ministry and Israel’s political leadership to expand and deepen ties with African countries.