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Malawi Plans Embassy in Jerusalem

James Butty

   Malawi will establish an embassy in Jerusalem, its foreign minister
   announced during a visit to Israel.

   The move represents "a bold and significant step," the minister,
   Eisenhower Mkaka, said in a video statement Tuesday. It would make
   Malawi the first African country in decades to open an embassy in
   Jerusalem, a city considered holy to the Jewish, Christian and Muslim
   religions.

   "I look forward to your embassy opening soon, and I'm sure that more
   African leaders will follow this decision," Israeli Foreign Minister
   Gabi Ashkenazi said in appearing with Mkaka, [1]Reuters reported.

   Malawi is one of few African countries to have maintained continuous
   diplomatic ties with Israel since the central African country's
   independence in 1964, according to The [2]Jerusalem Post. It reports
   that 16 countries -- including Ivory Coast, Kenya and what is now the
   Democratic Republic of the Congo -- closed embassies in Jerusalem
   following the 1973 Middle East War. Those that later reopened embassies
   did so in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv.

   U.S. President Donald Trump sparked controversy for recognizing
   Jerusalem as Israel's capital in late 2017 and shifting the U.S.
   Embassy there from Tel Aviv the following May. Guatemala soon followed
   suit, and a handful of other countries have at least publicly
   contemplated similar moves.

References

   1. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-malawi-jerusalem-diplomacy/malawi-says-it-will-open-israel-embassy-in-jerusalem-idUSKBN27J2CO?il=0
   2. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/foreign-minister-ashkenazi-meets-with-malawi-counterpart-watch-647892

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