Israeli preparations are underway for the Israel-Africa summit in Togo that falls in line with Israel’s plan to extend its influence in Africa.
The Israeli government said that the first-of-its-kind summit which is scheduled for 23rd-27th October is aimed at “building bridges toward further cooperation with Africa”.
The summit will focus on security counter-terrorism and cooperation in the fields of agriculture energy water and health as well as new technology.
Goals and reasons
According to experts the reason why some African states are looking forward to this summit is the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to invest $1 billion over the next four years to advance green energy projects in the member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
On the other hand Israel will take the emergence of Jihadi groups in West Africa over the past few years as an opportunity to tie Palestinian resistance to terrorism taking advantage of the African political elites’ poor awareness of the Arab-Israeli conflict due to the influence of the pro-Israel Western media.
Israel also seeks to win the support of African states at international forums especially after the latest blow Israel received from the UN Security Council which approved a draft law filed by Senegal to halt the settlement construction.
Israel is attempting to shrink the Arab influence on the African Union besiege the Arab states and protect its national security in particular by keeping the Red Sea from turning into an Arab lake.
Israel’s trade with Africa is weak said experts. A 2016 report by the Israeli Export Institute found that Israeli exports to Africa represented only 6% of the total exports.
Participants
About 41 African countries will take part in the summit represented by heads of state senior officials businessmen decision-makers security experts and non-governmental organizations from both sides.
Togolese Foreign Minister pledged to invite all African states to participate in the summit which as he put it “will not be exclusive to West Africa states”.
Challenges
Despite the African satisfaction with the new relations with Israel there are several factors that may affect these relations.
Arab rejection
The Council of the Arab League despite the difficult situation the Arab world is going through announced in its emergency meeting held under the chairmanship of Algeria a plan to confront the Israeli inroads in Africa at the expense of the Palestinian cause.
However observers rule out that Arabs in the short term will succeed in curbing Israel’s ambition to extend its influence in Africa especially in view of the recent disputes in the Gulf region.
Turkish ambition
Turkey shows great interest in Africa and believes that the second half of this century will be a great era for Africa. In this context Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his visit to East Africa in June 2017 said that Africa “should choose its partners carefully.”
On the economic level Turkey’s trade with Africa was about $3 billion in 2002 but according to the latest statistics it doubled to $6 billion while the Turkish investments in Africa reached another $6 billion.
Turkey succeeded in establishing its first military base in the African continent in Somalia and it also aims to open a Turkish embassy in each and every African country during the coming years.
Given the competition despite the declared normalization between Turkey and Israel observers believe that an important part of the cold conflict between the two sides will be shifted to Africa.
Iranian presence
Iran has pursued a range of policies that have helped strengthen its presence in Africa including financing development projects in the areas of technology energy agriculture and health and exporting oil to African states at cheap prices compared to the global market.
These policies have contributed to increased trade between Iran and African states which is expected to reach about $2 billion in 2021.
According to a report by National Security Advisor of Israel Yaakov Amidror in 2010 Israel is concerned about the growing Iranian influence in the region and the strategic alliances that could emerge between East African countries and Iran.
Security concern
Finally West African regimes may fear that normalizing relations with Israel which is considered a hostile state by a large segment of Muslims could make them a target for armed Islamist groups.
