In a meeting this week in Washington, the future Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Omar Bula, and the Foreign Minister of Israel, Gideon Sa’ar, agreed to resume diplomatic relations between the two countries, severed by the outgoing Colombian president, Gustavo Petro.
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“Colombia will open an embassy in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide all necessary assistance for this purpose. We have agreed to mutually waive the visa requirement,” added the Israeli foreign minister.
Under Petro, Colombia severed diplomatic relations with Israel in May 2024 due to the Israeli offensive against the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip; Last year, the leftist president suspended a trade treaty with Israel.
Most countries maintain their embassies in Israel in Tel Aviv and only eight have their representations in Jerusalem: Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Somaliland (a separatist region of Somalia, recognized as a State only by Israel) and the United States.
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, stated that he will also move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem, but has not yet fulfilled his promise.