JERUSALEM (JTA) — The visit to Israel by the president of the African nation of Chad is “historic,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet.

Chad President Idriss Deby arrived in Israel for an official visit on Sunday, the first president of the country ever to visit Israel. The two countries severed diplomatic ties in 1972.

Netanyahu noted that the visit is the outgrowth of the ceremonies in Paris to mark the end of World War I. Netanyahu said he met Deby on the sidelines of the event and encouraged him to visit.

“This visit reflects the rising status of Israel among the nations. I reiterate this time and again. Every week we see the implementation of this concept, of cultivating economic-technological strength, alongside security-intelligence strength, to receive political-diplomatic strength. This is happening before our eyes, one might say, on a daily basis,” Netanyahu said. He asserted that “there will yet be other countries soon.”

Deby has served as president of Chad, a Muslim majority country, since 1990. Senior Israeli officials renewing diplomatic relations.

Meanwhile, the president of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman, arrived in Israel on Sunday evening for a three-day state visit.

Zeman is scheduled to open the “Czech House,” a cultural center, in Jerusalem during the visit, and it is said to be the first step toward establishing an embassy in Jerusalem, according to reports. The Czech House will contain government institutions including the foreign ministry’s Czech Center, the trade agency CzechTrade and tourism agency CzechTourism.

The Czech Foreign Ministry has not confirmed plans for an eventual embassy in Jerusalem. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis is against such a move.

Zeman is scheduled to lay a wreath at the Mount Herzl military cemetery, to visit Yad Vashem and to give a speech in the Knesset on Monday afternoon.

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