Congo in Talks With Israel to Move Embassy From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Democratic Republic of Congo said Thursday it is advancing talks with Israel to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, reviving a pledge first announced three years ago.

The Congolese Foreign Ministry posted a joint Congo-Israel declaration after President Félix Tshisekedi’s working visit to Israel this week. According to the statement, the two sides “intend to continue consultations with a view to the opening of a resident embassy of the State of Israel in Kinshasa and the transfer of the embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”

No timetable was given. The document said the countries would keep discussing the practical steps through diplomatic channels.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar struck a more forward-leaning note, saying he and Congolese Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner “will advance the relocation of the DRC embassy to Jerusalem.” Sa’ar said the move would proceed alongside the opening of an Israeli embassy in Kinshasa and that Congo was expected to become the 11th country with an embassy in Israel’s capital.

Most countries that maintain relations with Israel keep their embassies in or around Tel Aviv. Israel regards Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, and the city’s status remains one of the most disputed issues in the conflict.

The reciprocal embassy plan was first announced in September 2023, when Tshisekedi and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Netanyahu pledged to reopen an Israeli embassy in Kinshasa. Tshisekedi said Congo would move its mission to Jerusalem once that Israeli embassy was in place. Implementation has remained pending.

Tshisekedi met Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Tuesday during his second visit to Israel as president. Officials said the talks covered security, defense, agriculture, infrastructure, energy, technology and investment. Herzog visited Kinshasa in November 2025, the first trip to Congo by an Israeli president in about 40 years.

Congo appointed an ambassador to Israel in 2020 after a long gap in high-level representation. Kinshasa condemned the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and has drawn closer to Israel in recent years, including through memorandums signed by the two foreign ministries in July.

The latest declaration does not complete the embassy transfer. It confirms that both governments still intend to carry out the 2023 commitment and are again treating it as an active diplomatic goal.