Malawi’s newly elected president Lazarus Chakwera announced on Friday that he will open a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem.

Chakwera, who was sworn in as the East African country’s sixth president about two months ago, made the announcement as part of a national series of reforms, including expanding its Foreign Ministry.

Malawi is a majority Christian country with a population of 21 million people. Chakwera, an Evangelical Christian who has a PhD in theology from a US university, is a long-standing supporter of Israel, last visiting the country in 2019.

I took a break from court and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Israel, where I spent some time praying for our beautiful country #Malawi. pic.twitter.com/c4OZ5f1TEJ

— Dr. Lazarus Chakwera (@LAZARUSCHAKWERA) November 20, 2019

Israel and Malawi established diplomatic relations in July 1964. Following the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Malawi was one of only three Sub-Saharan African countries that resisted Arab pressure to halt its diplomatic relations with Israel.

Israel’s ambassador to Nairobi, Kenya, Noach Gal Gendler, also serves as the non-resident ambassador to Malawi (as well as to Uganda, Tanzania and Seychelles.)

The announcement follows Friday’s announcement of the Serbia-Kosovo-US-Israel agreement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=16&v=SJm-q3oidEA&feature=emb_logo

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)