Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he will visit Chad soon and will announce the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries with Chadian President Idriss Deby, who ended today an unprecedented visit to Israel.
Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Netanyahu "will visit Chad soon and will announce there with President Deby resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries," without specifying the date of the upcoming visit.
Netanyahu said in a tweet on Twitter that his country and Chad would resume their diplomatic relations, and that it was a "historic step" for the two countries after severing their relations for nearly half a century.
The Prime Minister's Office said Netanyahu met in the morning in Jerusalem with the Chadian president "and discussed with him the common threats facing the two countries. They also discussed expanding cooperation between the two countries in various fields," including combating terrorism and protecting borders.
During Deby's visit to Tel Aviv, the two leaders declined to comment on whether their talks involved arms deals, but Chadian security sources said N'Djamena had "acquired Israeli equipment to help fight the rebels in the north of the country."
Diplomatic relations between Israel and Chad have been severed since 1972. President Idriss Deby is a longtime African leader who has been president of Chad since 1990 and won in April 2016 in a fifth term.