JERUSALEM, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Chad on Jan. 20, his office said Thursday, where he is expected to announce the resumption of diplomatic ties with the African country.
Netanyahu will depart for a "historic visit" to Chad on Sunday and will meet Chadian President Idriss Deby, the prime minister's office said in a statement.
The visit follows a trip by Deby, who arrived in Jerusalem for a two-day official visit last November. The two leaders held meetings in which they discussed the fight against terrorism and bilateral cooperation in the fields of agriculture, solar energy, and water.
Netanyahu had said he would fly to Chad, where he and Deby "will announce the resumption of diplomatic relations."
Chad, a Muslim-majority country in central Africa, and Israel severed their diplomatic relations in 1972.
Most Muslim or Arab countries do not have formal ties with Israel.
Netanyahu praised the warming ties with Chad as an example of how Israel can form relations in Africa and the Middle East regardless of the continuing conflict with the Palestinians.
