Israeli President Isaac Herzog is slated to visit Ethiopia this week and meet with Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, along with representatives from the Jewish community, on a diplomatic mission to strengthen ties between the two countries.

The visit marks yet another milestone in the improvement in relations between Ethiopia and Israel since the days when Israel had to sneak Ethiopian Jews out of the country. During the 1980s and 1990s, the persecution of Ethiopian Jews, along with famine and economic instability, worsened to the point that the Israeli government decided to mount a rescue operation. The Mossad created a luxury diving resort in an abandoned tourist village in Sudan, with Mossad agents working undercover as swimming instructors. From there, they smuggled the Ethiopians to their new home in Israel.

A statement from Herzog’s residence in Jerusalem said that the visit “reflects the historic bonds of friendship between the two peoples and marks a significant milestone in deepening cooperation between Israel and Ethiopia, as well as broader cooperation with the nations of Africa.”

The statement went on to say that the two countries “share a long history of diplomatic, cultural and people-to-people ties. Across generations, a deep bond has existed between the Jewish people and the Beta Israel community, with historic aliyah operations bringing tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel, where they have become an integral part of Israeli society.”

Today, the Jewish Ethiopian community numbers nearly 200,000, with the population roughly split in half between Ethiopian-born and Israeli-born Jews. In Israel, about two percent of the population is Ethiopian.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar traveled to the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, last year, where he met with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos. At that meeting, he warned of the dangers the Houthis, an Iranian proxy terror group that operates out of Yemen, pose to both Israel and Ethiopia.

“Just yesterday, they hit near our airport with a missile,” Sa’ar said then, speaking to reporters with Timothewos. “They are a threat to Israel, Africa and the international community.”

“Terrorism is a common threat. Al-Shabaab collaborates with the Iran-backed Houthis,” he added, referring to the jihadi group based in Somalia that has attacked Ethiopian targets.