EFE.- Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday described his country’s decision to resume consular relations with Venezuela as “another piece of good news from South America,” referring to Colombia’s recent recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights.
“Another piece of good news from South America: the resumption of consular relations between Israel and Venezuela,” Israel’s top diplomat wrote in a post on social media platform X.
“I will continue strengthening ties between Israel and countries around the world in general, and between Israel and Latin American countries in particular!” Saar added.
Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry and Israel’s Foreign Ministry had previously announced in a joint statement that both sides agreed to resume consular relations nearly 17 years after Caracas severed diplomatic ties.
The announcement followed a series of talks in recent weeks between Saar and his Venezuelan counterpart, Félix Plasencia, according to the statement.
The statement said both sides agreed to establish a coordination mechanism that will provide consular services to citizens of both countries, creating the first official channel of contact between Jerusalem and Caracas since 2009, when Venezuela severed relations with Israel amid the war in Gaza.
The joint Israeli-Venezuelan statement also said that, alongside the consular rapprochement announced Tuesday, both countries will maintain the cooperation that emerged after the earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on June 24.
Israel subsequently sent a humanitarian aid delegation, led by its Foreign Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Home Front Command, which assisted with emergency response and reconstruction efforts.
The announcement from Israel and Venezuela comes one day after Colombia recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a strategic territory in the Middle East located in Syria that Israel has occupied since 1967.
