Chad rumored to consider opening mission in Jerusalem
A source within the delegation that arrived Tuesday from Chad said his country would be willing to open a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem, though Chad's Foreign Ministry denied having any plans to do so.
A top official from Chad told the Israeli press Tuesday that his country would be willing to open a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem. The official was part of a senior Chadian delegation that arrived to Jerusalem at the invitation of Israel’s National Security Council. Headed by Chad’s cabinet chair Abdelkarim Deby, the delegation met yesterday and today with a series of Israeli top officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen and National Security Council chief Meir ben Shabbat.
A statement issued yesterday by Netanyahu’s office said that the premier and Deby "discussed the appointment of ambassadors and the opening of missions, including the possibility of opening an embassy in Jerusalem." The office of Cohen issued a similar statement, saying, "At the request of Minister Cohen, Gen. Deby responded positively to advancing the establishment of an official representative office of Chad in Jerusalem."
Ashkenazi tweeted Wednesday morning that he and Deby "discussed the window of opportunity that has opened in the Middle East for building bridges between the peoples and establishing diplomatic relations between the countries."
Cohen went a bit further, tweeting about "an important meeting with Chad cabinet chief Gen. Abdelkarim Deby and the director of Chad’s National Security Agency, Gen. Ahmed Kogri." He wrote, "We discussed strengthening cooperation in the fields of intelligence, security and economy, and about other good news to be published further down the road."
