Israel–Malawi Relations

Malawi’s continued diplomatic relationship with Israel distinguished it from most African states following the 1973 war, when a broad regional rupture left Malawi, Lesotho, and Swaziland as exceptions.[2] Bilateral cooperation has included Israeli assistance in health and agriculture, agricultural education for Malawian students, and the development of diplomatic representation.[5][6]

During Foreign Minister Eisenhower Mkaka’s November 3–5, 2020 visit to Israel, the two governments described their countries as close friends sharing commitments to prosperity and peace.[5] Their joint statement praised growing cooperation and mutual support, recalled Malawi’s retention of diplomatic ties, and acknowledged Israel’s assistance to Malawi.[5] The ministers identified tourism, investment, technology, agriculture, education, and trade as areas for further cooperation.[5]

Diplomatic representation has not always involved resident embassies in both countries: Israel previously maintained an embassy in Lilongwe, while its later representation to Malawi was handled by an ambassador based in Kenya.[1][7] Malawi had no embassy in Israel when it announced plans for one in 2020, and its first embassy opened in 2024.[3][8]

Before Malawi’s independence, the territory was known as Nyasaland and provided refuge to Jews persecuted during the Holocaust.[6] Malawi’s recognition of Israel and the establishment of diplomatic relations are both dated to July 1964.[1][9]

Following the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, most African states broke diplomatic relations with Israel, but Malawi retained its ties.[2] Arye Oded’s historical account identifies Malawi, Lesotho, and Swaziland as the three exceptions and attributes the broader rupture partly to Arab pressure and monetary incentives.[10] In a separate account of MASHAV, Oded says thirty African countries terminated relations in 1973 and identifies anti-Israeli Arab activity and the hostile stance of the Organization of African Unity as salient factors.[11] He also describes Israel as generally withdrawing development experts from countries that severed relations while continuing cooperation where diplomatic or practical ties survived.[11]

In September 2020, President Lazarus Chakwera announced a review of Malawi’s diplomatic presence that included a desire to establish new missions in Lagos and Jerusalem.[8] At that time, Malawi had no embassy in Israel, and Israel’s ambassador to Malawi was based in Kenya.[8] During Mkaka’s November visit, he reiterated Chakwera’s intention to establish a fully fledged embassy in Jerusalem by summer 2021.[5] The joint statement presented the proposed embassy as a significant step in bilateral relations.[5]

By December 2023, Malawi planned to open its embassy in Tel Aviv after three years of negotiations.[7] An initial arrangement placed the mission at the Ben Shemen home of David Bisinovaty, a former Malawian parliamentarian elected in 2015, who was to serve as its first chargé d’affaires.[12] Bisinovaty had given up his Israeli citizenship, and the initial premises were described as temporary, pending a permanent embassy in Tel Aviv.[12]

The embassy-opening ceremony took place in Tel Aviv on April 18, 2024, with Malawian Foreign Minister Nancy Tembo, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel in attendance.[3] At the ceremony, the ministers also signed an agreement to pilot a program intended to bring approximately 3,000 Malawian agricultural workers to Israel.[3]

Israeli medical assistance to Malawi has included eye-surgery clinics established through MASHAV, Israel’s Center for International Cooperation.[13] By June 1995, clinics established in Malawi, Kenya, and Zambia had collectively restored sight to thousands of people; the stated total did not distinguish Malawi’s share.[13]

In 2002, MASHAV introduced a course on psychosocial intervention for children at risk because of AIDS and held its first course in Malawi, selected because of the country’s high incidence of AIDS.[14] The course addressed children’s emotional development and practical support that caregivers, families, and others could provide to children affected by AIDS.[14]

Agricultural education featured prominently in the 2020 ministerial talks.[5] Mkaka thanked Israel for MASHAV programs, agricultural training for Malawian students, and the upgrading of the Israel–Malawi Agricultural Centre of Excellence at Lilongwe’s Natural Resource College.[5] He linked those initiatives to Malawi’s food-security strategy and socioeconomic development.[5] The governments outlined plans to post an Israeli expert in Lilongwe, offer Malawi-specific MASHAV courses, and increase the number of Malawian students participating in agricultural internships in Israel.[5]

At a Jerusalem conference held March 27–29, 2023, Malawian participant Febbie Gross Kandaya described her group’s use of Israeli technology and expertise to train local farmers, particularly rural smallholders.[15] In her conference account, Kandaya said the training sought to improve productivity and encourage farmers to treat agriculture as a viable business.[15] She said the Israeli government supported the effort, while the Malawian government had not supported her group’s farmer training.[15]

An eleven-month agricultural internship partnership between Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Kinneret College provided another educational link.[16] Students in the partnership learned intensive and sustainable farming, produce processing, and marketing.[16]

Labor cooperation expanded during the Israel–Hamas war, when Israel faced agricultural labor shortages.[17] Malawi and Kenya agreed to send workers to Israel after Israel stopped issuing work permits to Palestinians.[18] By December 2023, hundreds of Malawian agricultural workers had arrived in Israel after the halt in entry of Palestinian workers from Gaza and from the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria.[7] Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said thousands more were expected.[19] Cohen identified agriculture, security, education, and innovation as intended areas of further cooperation.[19]

The April 2024 embassy-opening agreement envisaged a pilot involving approximately 3,000 agricultural workers.[3] In September 2024, Malawian parliamentarian Joyce Chitsulo said Malawi’s parliament had approved a worker program in February after a fact-finding visit to Israel, where about 700 Malawians were already working.[16] She expected around 10,000 workers by the end of the year across agriculture, construction, elder care, and tourism.[16] Those figures described different scopes: the April agreement concerned an agricultural pilot, whereas Chitsulo’s projection covered several industries.[3][16]

In April 2025, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel visited Malawi for twenty-four hours and signed a bilateral labor agreement facilitating Malawian employment in agriculture and caregiving.[4] She met Chakwera and Tembo during the visit.[4]

Health cooperation also continued through nongovernmental initiatives.[20] In July 2025, the Ruderman Family Foundation and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee signed a memorandum of understanding with Malawi to bring Israeli medical technology, mobile clinics, and portable diagnostic tools to underserved communities.[20] The arrangement formed part of JDC’s ImpactWell initiative, which focused on health solutions for communities with limited access to care.[20]

Malawi abstained on the United Nations ceasefire resolutions adopted on October 27 and December 12, 2023, both of which called for an immediate ceasefire without condemning Hamas.[17] In the separate October 27 vote on a Western-sponsored amendment condemning Hamas, Malawi voted in favor.[17] In September 2024, Malawi voted against a United Nations General Assembly resolution concerning Israel’s presence in Palestinian territories; the resolution passed by 124 votes to 14.[21]

At the April 2024 embassy-opening ceremony, Tembo said Malawi would continue supporting Israel and would assist efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.[3] After meeting hostages’ families, she agreed to raise their situation in international discussions.[3] During her April 2025 visit, Haskel described Malawi as a friend that had supported Israel publicly and at the United Nations.[4]

The relationship has also included engagement with Malawi’s religious communities.[22] In 2020, the U.S. embassy in Malawi facilitated discussions between Christian and Muslim communities and a visiting nonresident Israeli ambassador.[22] Commentary surrounding the proposed Jerusalem mission linked the government’s ability to pursue it partly to Malawi’s religious tolerance, citing the election of an Israeli-born Jewish member of parliament as an example.[22]

The principal diplomatic controversy concerned the difference between Malawi’s 2020 commitment to establish an embassy in Jerusalem and the subsequent opening ceremony in Tel Aviv in April 2024.[3][5] A 2025 account said Chakwera had supported a Jerusalem move during his candidacy but later reversed course, citing pressure and a need for regional consensus; it added that local pro-Israel lawmakers thought he might revisit the issue if reelected.[20]

The 2020 announcement also generated misleading descriptions of the proposed mission as the first African embassy ever in Jerusalem.[23] African countries including Ivory Coast, Zaire, and Kenya had previously maintained embassies there, and some coverage was corrected to describe Malawi’s proposal as the first in decades.[23] The proposal concerned opening Malawi’s first embassy in Israel, rather than relocating an existing embassy.[23]