Washington is pushing Niger to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two U.S. and Israeli officials.
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According to the report, U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken during his visit last month to the Western African nation urged the country's president, Mohamed Bazoum, to move toward thawing relations with Jerusalem.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, shakes hands with Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum during their meeting at the presidential palace in Niamey, Niger, Thursday, March 16, 2023
(Photo: AP)
Blinken and Bazoum's discussion over Israel, which was not previously disclosed, is the latest effort by Washington to expand the Abraham Accords — a series of U.S.-mediated normalization agreements between Israel and Arab and Muslim-majority countries.
Axios further reported that Blinken spoke on the phone with his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen two weeks after his trip to Africa and briefed him on his talks, which also included Niger Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou.
Israeli officials reportedly said Cohen proposed inviting Niger to participate in the Negev Forum, which includes the U.S., Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt.
Israeli officials said that the leadership in Niger was willing to move forward with warming ties with Israel and even reestablishing diplomatic relations, but they want to get some kind of deliverables from the Biden administration.
The Niger Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. State Department declined to comment.
Israel and Niger have had a tumultuous relationship over the course of their history. Both countries first established diplomatic relations in the 1960s, but they broke down in 1973 due to the Yom Kippur War. In 1996, ties were renewed following the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. However, Niger once again severed ties in 2002 amid the second intifada.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in the inauguration of the embassy in Ramat Gan
(Photo: GPO)
In recent years, Israel has been waging a campaign to warm ties with African nations.
In February, Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno arrived in Israel to open his country's embassy in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv after the countries agreed to establish ties in early 2019.