Observers here attach considerable diplomatic significance to Foreign Minister Abba Eban’s trip next week to Africa where he will preside at a conference of Israeli envoys to 17 African states in Abidjan, capital of the Ivory Coast. The Israeli Foreign Minister will also visit Liberia where he will be received by President William V. S. Tubman and plans to visit Senegal as well for talks with Foreign Minister Kaain Guye. In Abidjan he will be the guest of President Felix Houphouet-Boigny of the Ivory Coast.
Mr. Eban and the assembled Israeli ambassadors will be discussing political and economic ties between their country and the nations of West and Central Africa. Those ties are increasingly important to Israel, diplomatic sources pointed out here, considering that the African and Latin American nations form the two largest blocs in the United Nations General Assembly. The importance of pressing home in Africa Israel’s position on the Middle East dispute is recognized in Jerusalem, they said. Following the Abidjan meeting, a group of senior officials of the Foreign Ministry will tour the African countries to present Israel’s case directly to their leaders.
Israel maintains very friendly relations and trade ties with a number of black African nations such as Ghana, Malawi and Lesoto. In addition, Ethiopia, Gabon and other countries have supported Israel at the UN. On the other hand, African countries leaning toward the Soviet bloc and many of those in the French-speaking group have been influenced by anti-Israel or pro-Arab policies. Israel, it was pointed out here, does not rely on diplomatic representations alone to create goodwill among the African nations but has rendered important technical aid to many of them. Israeli experts are dispersed throughout the continent and many Africans study and get technical training in Israel.
The head of a Histadrut goodwill mission to black Africa reported here that Israel has a favorable image in the African states. Yeruham Meshel told the Histadrut central committee that a number of agreements were signed between local trade unions and Histadrut during the visit of his three-man delegation. The agreements cover mutual aid programs and cooperation in various fields.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
