Democratic Republic of Congo to move embassy to Jerusalem

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is moving to relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem following President Félix Tshisekedi’s visit to Israel this week.

Israel and the DRC said in a joint statement on Thursday that they would continue consultations toward moving the Congolese embassy to Jerusalem and opening a resident Israeli embassy in Kinshasa. No timetable was announced.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon welcomed the development.

“I thank my good friend, President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for his decision to move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem, Israel’s capital,” Danon wrote on X. “More than a decade ago, when Félix was still a presidential candidate, he shared with me his deep personal connection to Jerusalem and his vision of establishing an embassy there. Today, he is turning that vision into reality.”

Danon concluded by quoting from Genesis: “I will bless those who bless you.”

Tshisekedi met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Tshisekedi and Netanyahu agreed to strengthen economic and security ties between their countries.

The embassy move revives a commitment first announced in 2023, when Tshisekedi met with Netanyahu on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly annual general debate in New York.