Kinshasa announced on Thursday its intention to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, following a three-day visit by President Félix Tshisekedi. DR Congo thus joins a small group of countries, including the United States, that have taken this step breaking with the international consensus.
A joint statement published on Thursday made it official: the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Israel announced they would take measures for the “transfer of the DR Congo embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.” The announcement comes at the end of a three-day trip by Félix Tshisekedi, who met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The two leaders “reaffirmed their common commitment to strengthen diplomatic relations between their countries and to further consolidate the bonds of friendship and cooperation that unite them,” the joint text specifies. This is Tshisekedi’s second trip to Israel since taking office.
Beyond the diplomatic symbolism, the visit had a marked security dimension. The two countries already cooperate in this area: in 2024, Israeli contractors provided personal protection for the Congolese president, and security sources indicate that Israeli instructors have trained certain special units of the Congolese armed forces deployed in the eastern part of the country. However, no new contract was announced following this visit, even though Kinshasa seeks a more concrete rapprochement.
The issue of the conflict opposing DR Congo and Rwanda was also discussed during the talks, while Israel also maintains military cooperation with Kigali.
The status of Jerusalem remains one of the most sensitive issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel annexed East Jerusalem after its conquest of the West Bank during the 1967 war, an annexation not recognized by the UN. Nearly all countries with formal diplomatic representation to Israeli authorities maintain their embassy in Tel Aviv.
DR Congo has multiplied initiatives over several years to establish economic and security partnerships, notably having drawn closer to the United States in recent months.
