Israel says to open embassy in Rwanda

JERUSALEM, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Israel is set to open an embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Tuesday, amidst a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Africa.

"This is part of the expansion of Israel's presence in Africa and of the deepening cooperation between Israel and African countries," Netanyahu said following a meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Nairobi, according to the statement.

Netanyahu arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday morning for a one-day visit ahead of the inauguration ceremony of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was recently re-elected in controversial elections.

Currently, the Israeli ambassador to Kenya is in charge with Rwanda-related affairs too.

The announcement came after a recently achieved agreement between Israel and Rwanda, under which Israel would pay the Rwandan government 5,000 U.S. dollars for every African asylum seeker in Israel that Rwanda would accept.

The deal, dubbed by the Israeli government as "voluntary expulsion," is part of the Jewish state's efforts to depart the Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seeker community that have reached Israel in the past few years.

The meeting with Kagame was part of marathon meetings that Netanyahu held on the sidelines of Kenyatta's inauguration ceremony, which included meetings with the presidents of Gabon, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, South Sudan, Botswana, and Namibia.

The visit is Netanyahu's third trip to Africa within the last year-and-a-half. It is part of Israel's efforts to strengthen the ties with the continent.

Over the past two years, legations from four African countries have opened in Israel. Enditem