Israel has contributed $20,000 worth of foodstuffs to draught stricken Upper Volta, officials said here. Israel has also given $10,000 to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) for assistance to the drought areas below the Sahara. Some of the stricken countries such as Mali and Chad broke their diplomatic ties with Israel last year, precluding direct help from Jerusalem.
Officials here have expressed great satisfaction at the current visit of the Agriculture Minister of the Central African Republic Joaquim da Silva heading an economic mission Da Silva is seeking increased Israeli economic and agricultural aid to his country. He met with Foreign Minister Abba Aban and had an unscheduled meeting with Premier Golda Meir.
His visit follows a visit here from a Swaziland minister and a Gabon delegation. A Ghanian mission is expected soon and Israel is hopeful that the tide has turned in Africa where things had been going badly of late. The countries sending missions here seek more aid and are obviously ignoring hostile resolution by the Organization for African Unity (OAU). Officials pointed out that the more countries that ignore them the less impact and importance those resolutions have.
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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.
