Colombia opens embassy in Jerusalem — Asharq Al-Awsat

On October 14, Colombia opened an embassy in Jerusalem, becoming the tenth country to open a diplomatic mission of this level there. The day before, the country also reinstated its free trade agreement with Israel. This was reported by Asharq Al-Awsat.

Bogotá changes course

Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office in August, changed his predecessor Gustavo Petro’s policy toward Israel. In May 2024, Petro severed diplomatic relations with Israel over its actions in Gaza, closed the Colombian embassy in Tel Aviv and recalled the ambassador.

On Tuesday, the free trade agreement between the two countries, which had previously been suspended under Petro’s presidency, was reinstated. Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar attended the opening ceremony of the embassy in Jerusalem.

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Israel’s position

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that in the two months since the change of government in Colombia, it had been possible to eliminate most of the negative consequences of the Petro administration for bilateral relations and launch new areas of cooperation.

Most countries maintain their embassies in Israel in Tel Aviv. Israel considers Jerusalem its capital, while Palestinians seek to make East Jerusalem the capital of a future independent state. Previously, the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay and Somaliland moved their embassies to Jerusalem.