Malawi said on Tuesday it will open a full embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, becoming the first African nation to do so in decades.
In a video statement during a visit to Israel, Malawi Foreign Minister Eisenhower Mkaka called the decision a "bold and significant step."
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He congratulated Israel on its budding relations with Arab and Muslim states under US-brokered deals, including new ties with African country Sudan, which Israel has hailed as marking the start of a "new era" in the region.
Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said alongside Mkaka: "I look forward to your embassy opening soon, and I'm sure that more African leaders will follow this decision."
The embassy is expected to open by the summer of 2021, the Foreign Ministry said.
Asked to confirm the embassy decision, Brian Banda, an aide to Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera, said: "Yes, it's going ahead, full embassy in Jerusalem."
Malawi is a mostly Christian country with 21 million inhabitants but has no embassy in Israel. Israel's non-resident ambassador to Malawi, Oded Joseph, is based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan, praised Malawi's announcement. "Thank you, Malawi, for recognizing the historic truth that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people & the State of Israel," he tweeted.
Several African countries, including the Ivory Coast, Zaire – now the Democratic Republic of the Congo – and Kenya, had maintained embassies in Jerusalem in the past but closed them following the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
US President Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election on Tuesday, enraged the Palestinians by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in late 2017. He moved the US Embassy there the following year.
Guatemala moved its embassy to Jerusalem soon afterward, and Honduras has said it aims to do the same by the end of 2020. Brazil and the Dominican Republican are also considering the move.
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