Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar Gideon Sa’ar will depart today (Tuesday, 19 August 2025) for a diplomatic visit to Africa, during which he will inaugurate Israel’s Embassy in Zambia. While in Zambia, FM Sa’ar will meet with President Hakainde Hichilema, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mulambo Haimbe, and Speaker of the Parliament Nelly Mutti.
During the visit, a series of initiatives will be presented to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
The embassy inauguration ceremony will take place in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, on Wednesday.
On his way to Zambia, Minister Sa’ar will meet in Addis Ababa with Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister, Dr. Gedion Timotheos. This will be their fourth meeting since Minister Sa’ar assumed office.
It should be noted that Israel maintained an embassy in Zambia in the 1960s and 1970s, which was closed as part of a wider reduction of Israel’s diplomatic missions in Africa. The reopening of the embassy after decades marks an important step in deepening bilateral ties with Zambia and forms part of a broader initiative to expand and strengthen relations with African nations—one of Minister Sa’ar’s strategic goals for the ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2025.
Zambia has maintained an embassy in Israel since 2015.