The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu took off for Liberia on Saturday night to participate in a conference of the Economic Community of West African States.
He is expected to deliver remarks to the leaders in attendance at the conference. While there, he will also meet with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe and Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara.
ECOWAS is one of eight regional African organizations and is made up of 15 member states.
The ECOWAS conference is the initiative of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, the official financial institution of the West African states.
Before taking off for Liberia, Netanyahu said, “I am leaving now for a conference of West African countries. This is the first time they have invited the leader of a non-African country to address them; I very much appreciate it. Israel is returning to Africa in a big way. As a result of my visit to East Africa, we are now going to West Africa.”
Netanyahu said his goal was to erode the “great blocking majority of 54 African countries that is the basis of the automatic majority against Israel in the U.N. and other international bodies. I think that it is to Israel’s credit how they esteem us. This is a long journey, but we are surely making it step by step.”
Netanyahu is expected to return to Israel on Monday morning.
Loud Whispers 
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