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Colombia’s President Ivan Duque opened a commerce and innovation workplace in Jerusalem on Tuesday in a transfer seen as deepening already shut ties between Israel and a key ally in South America.
The Jerusalem workplace of Innpulsa, Bogota’s entrepreneurship and innovation company, is Colombia’s first innovation heart overseas. Duque plans on opening related places of work in South Korea and San Francisco.
Israel’s innovation authority hosted the opening occasion, attended by Science and Know-how Minister Orit Farkash-HaCohen, Innovation Authority Chairman Ami Appelbaum, and International Ministry Deputy Director Basic for Latin America Jonathan Peled.
“Colombia is a real good friend of Israel,” mentioned Farkash-HaCohen. “Governments create pacts however it’s individuals who construct the bridges…Colombia’s new innovation workplace in Jerusalem, Innpulsa, will create important momentum for strategic cooperation within the fields of science and expertise.”
“Right now we mark a milestone within the relations between Colombia and Israel…” tweeted Duque. “This step confirms that Israel is our key associate in innovation.”
On Monday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Duque in Jerusalem, the place the 2 leaders mentioned the Iran menace, amongst different regional challenges.
Bennett thanked Duque for including Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps to Colombia’s listing of terrorist organizations.
On Monday night, President Isaac Herzog hosted a state dinner on the President’s Residence in Duque’s honor.
“Right now we all know that our relationship has gotten to our highest peak ever,” mentioned Duque in a toast. “We’ve got many fronts on which we’re working collectively. However we need to take it to a good higher stage. As a result of Colombia is Israel’s primary ally in Latin America.”
“We need to be your Begin-Up Nation sister in Latin America,” he concluded.
Duque is main a 95-person delegation that features the ministers of protection, well being, agriculture, commerce, environmental safety, and transportation. Colombian officers, businessmen and representatives of the Jewish group additionally joined the president.
The dimensions and make-up of the Colombian delegation “underscores the significance of the connection and their need — and ours after all — to broaden cooperation in an entire vary of points,” mentioned the International Ministry’s Latin America desk deputy director, Yonatan Peled, in a briefing with reporters final week.
Duque introduced his intentions to open the workplace in August 2020, throughout a videoconference with then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, marking the ratification of a free-trade settlement between the 2 international locations.
The brand new mission will assist Colombia “consolidate the alternatives of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he mentioned then.
That is Duque’s first go to to Israel, and the second by a Colombian president. Juan Manuel Santos visited in 2013.
On the inauguration occasion of the Innovation Workplace of #Colombia in #Jerusalem by the President of Colombia @IvanDuque with @InnovationAut & @InnpulsaCol#ColombiaVisitaIsrael #VisitaIsrael ????????????????@CancilleriaCol @infopresidencia pic.twitter.com/Cds1qx6GhV
— Jonathan Peled (@JonathanPeled) November 9, 2021
Duque landed on Sunday and spent the day visiting Jerusalem’s Previous Metropolis earlier than taking part in an financial occasion at evening.
“We’re in a really distinctive stage in Israel-Colombia relations,” mentioned Christian Cantor, Israel’s ambassador in Bogota through the briefing. “Colombia is a really, very important diplomatic anchor for Israel in Latin America.”
“Duque is an excellent good friend of Israel and of the Jewish individuals,” mentioned Cantor.
Duque was then-president Alvaro Uribe’s assistant on the UN’s Palmer Fee that appeared into the Might 2010 Mavi Marmara incident and located that Israel’s financial blockade of Gaza was authorized.
Colombian Transportation Minister Ángela María Orozco, who joined Duque, participated within the Prime Minister’s Sensible Mobility Summit 2021 in Tel Aviv on Sunday and Monday.
The go to is the results of two years of labor by Israeli diplomats in Colombia, Cantor mentioned.
“Colombia is an island of financial stability and regional financial management,” mentioned Michal Gur Arye, director of the Latin America, Caribbean & Africa financial desk on the International Ministry. “Subsequently, the connection is essential each bilaterally and regionally.”
The free-trade settlement between Israel and Colombia, the third-largest financial system in Latin America, went into impact in August 2020. The settlement is Colombia’s first FTA with any nation within the Center East and can enable 97 p.c of Colombian items to enter the Israeli market with out tariffs.
At present, Brazil and Honduras function commerce places of work in Jerusalem. Different international locations which have commerce and/or protection places of work within the capital embody the Czech Republic, Hungary and Australia. Israel has touted the places of work as diplomatic achievements, although they fell wanting hopes for a flood of nations opening full embassies in Jerusalem after the US made the transfer in 2018.
Whereas working for president in 2018, Duque instructed supporters that he can be open to shifting Colombia’s embassy to Jerusalem and needed to enhance good relations with Israel.
Questioned about his assertion days later, Duque mentioned he supported a two-state answer and needed his eventual authorities to contribute to peace efforts. “Colombia can’t fire up hatred within the Center East,” he mentioned then.
In August 2018, Duque’s predecessor, Juan Manuel Santos, unexpectedly determined to acknowledge a Palestine state days earlier than leaving workplace, making Colombia the final nation in South America do to so.
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