Papua New Guinea to open Jerusalem embassy next week
Island nation will become the seventh country to open its embassy in Israel’s capital
Papua New Guinea will open its embassy in Jerusalem during a visit by Prime Minister James Marape to Israel on Sept. 4, according to Israeli media reports.
Channel 14 news first reported that the embassy would be inaugurated next week before an Israeli official later confirmed the details.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Papua New Guinea's Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkachenko agreed to initiate a move to open an embassy in Jerusalem in February.
The two countries established ties in 1978, but this will be PNG's first diplomatic mission in Israel, while Israel’s relations with PNG are handled by its embassy in Australia.
שבוע טוב עם בשורות טובות.
— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) February 26, 2023
עוד שגרירות עולה לירושלים🇮🇱🇵🇬 pic.twitter.com/wuOl3TQN45
“I thank Papua New Guinea for the close relationship, the overwhelming support at international institutions and the decision to establish an embassy in Jerusalem. This is further evidence of the warm and important relationship between the countries,” Cohen said in February
Papua New Guinea, a country with many Evangelical Christians, regularly supports Israel in United Nations votes.
In December 2022, PNG joined 25 other countries and Israel in opposing the UN General Assembly resolution, requesting that the International Court of Justice weigh in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to Times of Israel.
The island nation in the Pacific Ocean will become the seventh country overall to open its embassy in Israel’s capital, following Paraguay and Sierra Leone recently announcing its intentions to open or reopen embassies in Jerusalem.
Hungary and Fiji are also expected to announce embassy moves from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in the coming months.
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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.