Israel—Zaire relations

From Roach Busters

In the early years of the Mobutu regime, Zaire and the State of Israel enjoyed an amicable working relationship. Israel and Zaire actively traded, and Zaire was the recipient of foreign aid from the Jewish state, including training for his airborne personnel. However, in the early 1970s, to counter growing criticisms that he was too close to the West, and to bring himself closer to the Third World mainstream, Mobutu began openly criticizing the United States and Belgium, began implementing radical policies at home, and, in a move that shocked the world, he announced in front of the United Nations General Assembly that he was severing diplomatic relations with Israel. His was one of the first African nations to do so, and this earned him much credit with the Arab states; that year, he received the unprecedented honor of being the only non-Arab to attend the annual summit of Arab nations. He also toured several Middle Eastern nations, including Libya, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., and Iran.

Following the signing of a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, which resulted in the withdrawal of Israel from the Sinai peninsula (and thus from the African continent), in May 1982 Zaire and Israel resumed diplomatic relations. Mobutu was significantly rewarded for this by receiving substantial foreign aid from Israel, which was anxious to secure a bridgehead in Africa.

Israel provided military training in the form of advisers, instructors, and technicians, and some Zairian military personnel trained in Israel. In a 1983 five-year agreement, Israel was entrusted with restructuring and upgrading the military capability of the Zairian armed forces and began training and equipping the newly formed DSP. Israel also provided Zaire with weapons systems, including small arms.

Zaire and Israel maintain cordial relations, but the status of Zairian-Israeli military relations is unknown.