President Trump is scheduled to participate in a lunch with the leaders of five African nations and the Prime Minister of Israel this afternoon.
The meeting with the Presidents of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal will focus on discussions of trade and commercial opportunities. Netanyahu is reportedly set to meet separately with Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.
Netanyahu met with Hegseth this morning at the Pentagon as the Trump Administration pushes the Prime Minister to end the war in Gaza.
Per Semafor:
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is set to take a step toward resuming ties with the state of Israel at a White House meeting brokered by US President Donald Trump later Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the plans.
Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of a mini US-Africa summit featuring four other western African countries: Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Senegal. Mauritania, which is a member of the Arab League, severed ties with Israel in 2010 in response to the first Gaza war.
The Trump administration has indicated it is committed to normalizing relations and expanding economic partnerships with Israel across the continent. There are still nine African countries who have either never recognized Israeli statehood (Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Libya, Somalia, and Tunisia) or suspended bilateral relations (Mali, Mauritania, and Niger).
Spokespeople for the White House, State Department, and the Mauritanian embassy in Washington did not respond to queries from Semafor ahead of publication.
The Trump Administration reportedly plans to host a larger US-Africa summit later this year in New York.
“President Trump believes that African countries offer incredible commercial opportunities which benefit both the American people and our African partners,” a White House official said, according to Reuters.
The multilateral lunch is scheduled to begin at 12:05 pm.
Watch live below:
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