DRC 🇨🇩 | ISRAEL 🇮🇱: Netanyahu hosts Congo’s Tshisekedi as Kinshasa seeks security help and Israel eyes mining access – Benjamin Netanyahu hosted DRC President Félix Tshisekedi on Tuesday, and both sides said they want closer security and economic ties
Kinshasa is looking for extra security support as fighting continues in eastern Congo. Israel, meanwhile, wants a bigger opening for Israeli companies in the DRC’s mining sector and related projects.
Netanyahu called the relationship a “wonderful friendship” and said the visit would strengthen it further. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar attended the meeting. Tshisekedi also met President Isaac Herzog.
Officials listed security, defense, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, technology and investment as the main topics. No major new contracts were announced.
The timing is clear: Congo’s east is rich in cobalt, copper and coltan, and Kinshasa has also been looking at possible Israeli investment tied to the Lobito Corridor.
Ties have warmed in recent years. Tshisekedi pledged in 2023 to move Congo’s embassy to Jerusalem, and Israel said it would open one in Kinshasa. Both moves are still pending. Herzog visited Kinshasa last November.
Tshisekedi left Israel on Wednesday after a three-day trip. What comes next depends on follow-up talks and on the war in the east.