Israel sends new ambassador to Egypt

Israel has appointed David Govrin as its new ambassador to Egypt, and he has arrived in Cairo on Sunday to begin his diplomatic mission, replacing Haim Koren, who has served as Israel’s ambassador for the past two years.

Govrin, who served in the Cairo embassy in the 1990s as first secretary, was named the new Israeli envoy to Egypt last February following Koren’s request to return to Israel for “personal reasons.”

The new 53-year-old ambassador served most recently as the head of the Jordan and Morocco desk at the Israeli foreign ministry.

Govrin’s arrival in Cairo comes only days after Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry’s visit to Israel on Sunday, the first by an Egyptian foreign minister since 2007.

Israel reopened its embassy in Egypt in last September, exactly four years after being shut down when a mob of thousands overran and vandalized the complex.

Last June, Egypt sent Hazem Khairat as its first envoy to the Jewish State in three years. Egypt had recalled its last ambassador at the outset of the IDF’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2012 against Hamas’s terror infrastructure.

After decades of wars followed by years of an uneasy peace, Israel has emerged as a discreet ally to Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, along with powerhouse Saudi Arabia and smaller, wealthy Gulf Arab countries.

Outgoing ambassador Koren recently commented that “this is one of the best times we’ve ever had” in terms of cooperation between Cairo and Jeruasalem. “There’s good cooperation between the armies, we have understandings about the Sinai Peninsula, and basically, we see (eye-to-eye) on development of the region.”

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

David GovrinEgyptIsrael-Egypt relations