- Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid revealed that 19 years after Israel lost the observer status in the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) due to a spat with the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Israel is returning to the African Union (AU) as an observer state.
- The country has submitted its credentials to be an observer state, to enable it to participate in the bloc’s general meetings even though it will not have voting power.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid revealed that 19 years after Israel lost the observer status in the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) due to a spat with the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Israel is returning to the African Union (AU) as an observer state. The country has submitted its credentials to be an observer state, to enable it to participate in the bloc’s general meetings even though it will not have voting power.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid revealed that 19 years after Israel lost the observer status in the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) due to a spat with the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Israel is returning to the African Union (AU) as an observer state. The country has submitted its credentials to be an observer state, to enable it to participate in the bloc’s general meetings even though it will not have voting power. Political observers regard this move as an effort to boost its ties with the continent though Israel indicated that it was resuming ties with AU to cooperate more on security threats and mitigation of the spread of Covid-19.
. The decision comes 19 years after Israel lost the status in the wake of a tiff with then Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, soon after the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) changed to AU.
Minister Yair Lapid hailed the initiative as a diplomatic achievement to promote Israel’s foreign relations with the continent after two decades and is expected to strengthen Israel’s activities in the continent and in the organisation’s member states. Israel has increased its representation in Africa, establishing relations with 46 of 55 members of the AU in the last couple of years. Recently it has resumed its ties with Sudan and Morocco
Mousa Faki Mahamat, the chairperson of the AU Commission, who received credentials from Aleli Admasu, the Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia, Burundi and Chad, reiterated AU’s call for a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Palestine was granted, observer status to the AU in 2013 and has maintained support for the Palestinian cause to establish an independent, viable state with its capital in East Jerusalem.
