(September 14, 2024 / JNS) EXCLUSIVE — The Republic of Paraguay will open its embassy in Jerusalem by the end of 2024, in a sign of support for Israel in Latin America, Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano said on Thursday.

The embassy move, which had been planned before the start of the war against Hamas in Gaza, is a diplomatic boon for Israel at a time when it has faced international opprobrium over the 11-month-old war triggered by the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre.

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña will travel to Israel for the inauguration of the embassy in Israel’s capital, Ramírez Lezcano said in an interview with JNS.

“It is the government’s intention to open the embassy in Jerusalem before the end of the year,” Ramírez Lezcano told JNS. “Work is being done on the logistical aspects for the opening.”

He added that preparations were underway for a state visit by the president this fall for the opening of the embassy.

“The upcoming embassy move shows that the relationship between Paraguay and Israel is entering a new era of unprecedented bilateral cooperation and growth,” said Leopoldo Martinez, Latin America director of the Washington-based-Israel Allies Foundation.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana is scheduled to travel to both Paraguay and Argentina next week, where he will meet the presidents of the two countries, both staunch Israel allies who have pledged to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem.

PHOTO: From left, Israel Allies Foundation Latin America Director Leopoldo Martinez, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano in New York, Sept. 18, 2023. Credit: Courtesy of the Israel Allies Foundation.