Paraguay will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, President-elect Santiago Peña confirmed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone conversation on Wednesday.
“Thank you for the congratulatory call, Prime Minister Netanyahu; during my government, we will strengthen relations between Paraguay and Israel, with the embassy in Jerusalem, foster cooperation, and promote initiatives that generate prosperity for both nations,” Peña wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the Israeli prime minister’s office reported that Netanyahu “welcomed President-elect Peña’s intention to return Paraguay’s embassy to Jerusalem immediately after taking office in August.”
“The two leaders agreed to meet soon and discuss economic cooperation between their countries,” the official added.
In May 2018, a few months before leaving office, then Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes moved his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem following the same decision made by the United States.
Only the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, and Kosovo have their diplomatic headquarters in Jerusalem.
Cartes’ decision was seen as a diplomatic mistake.
After the arrival of Mario Abdo Benítez to the presidency in September of the same year, the Paraguayan embassy returned to Tel Aviv.
Israel then ordered the closure of its embassy in Asunción, and relations were only resumed in August 2019, with the appointment of Yoed Magen as concurrent ambassador to Paraguay from Montevideo.
Just this Wednesday, Abdo Benítez received Magen, with whom he discussed the historical relations between the two countries.
“Cooperation between the two countries was maintained during these years with Israel’s assistance to the fight against Covid-19, and at the defense level, with Israel’s gratitude for recognizing Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations,” said the state agency IPParaguay.
With information from Telám
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