(JNS) Colombia will inaugurate an embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday, making it the 10th country to establish a diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital.
The move is part of a major foreign policy reversal by Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office two months ago and moved to restore bilateral ties with Israel after the previous administration severed them.
It also comes amid a right-wing wave in Latin America that is driving a diplomatic shift toward better relations with the United States and Israel.
Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula will travel to Israel for the ceremony.
Israel and Colombia restored diplomatic and economic relations in August following the inauguration of the new Colombian government, reversing a two-year freeze initiated by former President Gustavo Petro over the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The South American nation also became the second country after the United States to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Nine countries currently have embassies in Israel’s capital: the United States, Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Naoero (Nauru), Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Somaliland.
All the other nations that have diplomatic relations with Israel maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv or its suburbs.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem during his first term set the stage for other countries to follow suit.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to be the next country to move its embassy to Jerusalem.
Argentine President Javier Milei and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, the front-runner in the Brazilian presidential race, have both pledged to move their countries’ embassies to Israel’s capital.
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