Colombian president to open innovation office in Jerusalem next week

[Chris]

Colombian president to open innovation office in Jerusalem next week
With free trade agreement in effect, Ivan Duque to lead 95-person delegation, including six ministers, to Israel to boost economic ties; will meet with Bennett and Herzog
By Lazar Berman
4 November 2021

Colombia’s President Ivan Duque will open a trade and innovation office in Jerusalem next week during a three-day visit to Israel, Foreign Ministry officials said Thursday. Duque will be leading a 95-person delegation that includes the ministers of defense, health, agriculture, trade, environmental protection, and transportation. Colombian officials, businessmen and representatives of the Jewish community will also join the president.

The size and makeup of the Colombian delegation “underscores the importance of the relationship and their desire — and ours of course — to broaden cooperation in a whole range of issues,” said the Foreign Ministry’s Latin America desk deputy director, Yonatan Peled, in a briefing with reporters.

The Jerusalem office of Innpulsa, Bogota’s entrepreneurship and innovation agency, will be Colombia’s first innovation center abroad. Duque plans on opening similar offices in South Korea and San Francisco, Peled said. Duque announced his intentions to open the office in August 2020, during a videoconference with then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, marking the ratification of a free-trade agreement between the two countries.

more.............. https://www.timesofisrael.com/colombian-president-to-open-innovation-office-in-jerusalem-next-week/

 

[Chris]

Colombia to open Jerusalem trade office in nod to Israel's sovereignty
The opening is seen as a partial victory for Israel's campaign to push the international community to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
By TOVAH LAZAROFF
NOVEMBER 7, 2021

Colombia plans on Tuesday to open a trade and innovation office in Jerusalem that would be a satellite of its Tel Aviv embassy, in a move that serves as a sign of the country's President Ivan Duque's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over its capital city. Duque, who is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Sunday for a three-day visit, will be present for the celebratory opening. He first announced the opening of the trade office last year at the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. It's seen as a partial victory for Israel's campaign to push the international community to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, particularly in the wake of the US relocation of its embassy to Jerusalem in 2018. Only three countries have followed suit: Guatemala, Honduras and Kosovo.

Most countries refuse to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, nor do they view it as part of sovereign Israel territory. As a result, most embassies in Israel are located in Tel Aviv, including that of Colombia. Equatorial Guinea and Malawi have also pledged to open embassies in Jerusalem. The Czech Republic and Hungary have taken a small step in the direction of Jerusalem recognition by opening diplomatic offices in Jerusalem. Columbia will now follow suit.

more.............. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/c...e-office-in-nod-to-israels-sovereignty-684248