By Kaamil Ahmed
JERUSALEM (AA) – Ministers and officials from 13 West African countries are attending a special agricultural conference in Israel this week as the self-proclaimed Jewish state continues to build relations with African nations.
The conference is co-organized by Israel’s development agency MASHAV and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as part of what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dubbed Israel’s “great return to Africa.”
The three-day event discusses ways of finding solutions to water scarcity, improving the efficiency of agricultural production and reducing negative impacts on the environment.
“Israel and Africa have been cooperating for decades in these fields for the benefit of their peoples. This conference is a testimony for a future commitment as well,” MASHAV’s head Gil Haskel said at the meeting’s opening ceremony on Monday.
The meeting is attended by representatives from Cape Verde, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Nigeria, Guinea, Gambia, Benin, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau and Ghana.
