Peña announces that he will inaugurate the Paraguayan Embassy in Jerusalem next December

The President of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, He announced that he will formally open the Embassy in Jerusalem next December, having announced the transfer of the Embassy from Tel Aviv since the beginning of his mandate in August of last year.

«Today, with great pleasure, I can announce that in the month of December I will be officially and formally opening the Embassy of the Republic of Paraguay "in the State of Israel, in Jerusalem, where it should always be," said the president, to applause, speaking at the reopening ceremony, after six years, of the Israeli diplomatic mission in the Paraguayan capital.

Peña, whose government has become one of the Hebrew State's allies in the region, also anticipated that his country "will continue to be on the side of the people of Israel" and argued that the bilateral relationship is based on faith and hope.

"Paraguay's support and our closeness to Israel is a strong and determined thing to do, and we are not doing it against anyone. We are not against anyone, we are in favor of life, we are in favor of freedoms and we have fought against intolerance," the head of state said.

"And even if we are the only country - he added - the only country, next to Israel, I assure you that the Paraguayan people will continue to be on the side of the people of Israel."

The president, who compared the wounds left in Paraguay by the "fratricidal" war of the Triple Alliance - in which it faced Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay - with those suffered by the Jewish people in the Holocaust, reiterated his condemnation as a "merciless act of intolerance" of the attack perpetrated by the terrorist group Hamas on October 7, 2023 against Israel.

In this context, he highlighted the presence during the ceremony in Asunción of a relative of the victims of the attack, whom he thanked for, "in an act of enormous generosity" and "tremendous love", giving "a part of his life" in this country.

"Paraguay is your home. Today there is a part of you here in Paraguay and as we say to the authorities, to the people of Israel, to the Jewish people, Paraguay has been your home, Paraguay is your home and Paraguay will always and forever be the home of the Jewish people," he said.

The president led a series of personalities who met at the embassy, ​​including the president of Congress, the pro-government Basilio Núñez, and the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Raúl Latorre.

In his speech, Israel's ambassador to the South American country, Yoed Magen, highlighted Peña's "unconditional friendship" towards Israel.

"We are very proud and honoured to have a friend of his stature," said the diplomat, who said he was thrilled that the reopening of the Israeli embassy on 18 September had become a reality.

The Paraguayan embassy in Israel, traditionally located in Tel Aviv, had been moved to Jerusalem in May 2018 during the mandate of President Horacio Cartes (2013-2018), but his successor, Mario Abdo Benítez (2018-2023), reversed course months later. In response, Israel closed its representation in Paraguay.

After expressing his intention to return the embassy to Jerusalem, Peña appointed Alejandro Rubín Cymerman as Paraguay's ambassador to the Hebrew country last December. EFE and Aurora