News
Israeli ambassador presents credentials to President Zuma
When President Jacob Zuma playfully asked the newly-appointed Israeli ambassador if he had paid lobola for his Johannesburg-born wife, he took no time in answering: “Of course I did”.
NICOLA MILTZ
This exchange took place last week when Israel’s Ambassador to South Africa, Lior Keinan, presented his credentials at a formal ceremony at the Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria.
During the auspicious ceremony, the Israeli ambassador spoke to President Zuma, appealing for South Africa to play a more crucial role in resolving the Middle East conflict.
Keinan said: “South Africa had experience in peaceful conflict resolution, which would be advantageous in the region.”
He told the SA Jewish Report: “I introduced my wife Sarit to the President and he was very pleased to hear she was born in South Africa. He liked that a lot.”
Zuma in fact referred to Keinan by the Zulu word “umkhwenyana” (brother-in-law), because of his South African wife.
At the ceremony, President Zuma said South Africa can play a role in the Middle East and will help resolve conflicts there if given the opportunity.
“This world must be at peace with itself and I hope there will be more time to discuss the solutions,” Zuma said while receiving the letters of credence from heads of missions. Representatives of Pakistan, India, China, Ghana and Uganda were present.
Keinan said that Israel has extensive knowledge that it shares with the world. “In less than 70 years we turned our desert into green fields and became a start-up nation with our own Silicon Valley, second only to the US.”
Zuma said he was confident that the two countries would help contribute to mutually beneficial relations and to attaining the United Nations’ sustainable development goals by 2030.