Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived Monday for a one-day visit to Uganda, where he is set to meet with leaders of other East African countries.
He was welcomed by Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Okello Oryem and other government officials. Netanyahu is accompanied by his wife.
“I am setting out for another visit to Africa, my fifth in three and a half years,” Netanyahu said before taking off from Tel Aviv. “Israel is making a big return to Africa, and Africa has already returned to Israel. These are important ties politically, economically and in terms of security,” he told local media in Israel before he left for Entebbe Airport, adding that he hopes to have good news upon his return.
In July 2016, the prime minister participated in a ceremony in Uganda to mark the 40th anniversary of Operation Entebbe, a hostage rescue by Israeli commandos at Entebbe Airport in 1976.
The operation, which aimed to rescue 106 passengers of an Air France flight that was hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, succeeded in freeing 102 of the hostages. Netanyahu’s brother Yonatan, who led the mission, was killed.
During the 2016 visit, Netanyahu met Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, South Sudan President Salva Mayardit, then-Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe, Zambian President Edgar Lungu and former Tanzanian Foreign Minister Augustine Mahiga.
