Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, on Wednesday during a state visit that marked the first trip to Israel by a Congolese head of state since 1985.
Tshisekedi toured the Holocaust History Museum and the Children’s Memorial, took part in a ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance and signed the Yad Vashem guestbook.
The visit followed talks Tuesday in Jerusalem, where President Isaac Herzog received Tshisekedi and later posted images of the meeting online, calling him “my dear friend.” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hosted Congolese Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner separately, saying the two sides held comprehensive discussions on strengthening security and economic ties, as well as on implementation of an ongoing peace agreement between Congo and Rwanda.
Israel and the DRC established diplomatic relations after Congo’s 1960 independence, but ties were severed in 1973 amid Arab League pressure on African nations following the Yom Kippur War. Relations were later restored, and Tshisekedi, who also serves as chairman of the African Union, was last received in Israel in 2021.
