Papua New Guinea to open Jerusalem Embassy
Decision announced today was reached last week
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced today that Papua New Guinea will open an embassy in Jerusalem in 2023.
Cohen spoke with his counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Justin Tkachenko, last Wednesday to discuss the opening of the embassy. They also talked about deepening and expanding economic relations between the two nations.
Cohen announced the move in a tweet that said, “Good week with good news. Another embassy moves up to Jerusalem.”
שבוע טוב עם בשורות טובות.
— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) February 26, 2023
עוד שגרירות עולה לירושלים🇮🇱🇵🇬 pic.twitter.com/wuOl3TQN45
Cohen thanked the minister from Papua New Guinea today.
“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,” said Cohen.
Papua New Guinea, which is a predominantly Christian nation, has had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1978. However, the nation had yet to establish an embassy in Israel.
Tkachenko also promised Cohen that his country will continue to support Israel in international arenas.
By establishing its embassy in Jerusalem, Papua New Guinea joins a small group of nations to recognize the Jewish capital.
Only the United States, Guatemala, Honduras and Kosovo have embassies in Jerusalem. Under the leadership of former U.S. President Donald Trump, the U.S. finally fulfilled its 1995 promise to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
Most countries do not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite western Jerusalem being included in the original partition agreement. Some countries have, instead, opted to establish trade offices in Jerusalem, while maintaining embassies in Tel Aviv.
Cohen indicated that getting more countries to recognize Jerusalem is a priority for the ministry.
“We at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to work to transfer more diplomatic missions to the city of Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the people of Israel," Cohen said as he announced the new embassy.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
