James Marape, third from right, was among Pacific Island leaders who met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, centre, in Fiji in February 2020. Photo: Facebook/Fiji Govt
Papua New Guinea will open an embassy in Jerusalem next week during a visit by Prime Minister James Marape.
Israel's foreign ministry had said in February that PNG would open its first embassy in the country some time in 2023.
Israeli media including Channel 14 and the Times of Israel reported the inauguration of the embassy would take place on September 5.
The vast majority of countries with an official diplomatic presence in Israel have their embassies in Tel Aviv, with only the US, Kosovo, Guatemala and Honduras basing theirs in Jerusalem.
However, the Times of Israel reports that both Sierra Leone and Paraguay have announced that they would open emabssies in Jerusalem, while Hungary and Fiji are expected to follow suit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Marape on the day of the ceremony, the Prime Minister's Office said.
PNG does not currently have an embassy in Israel, but does maintain a consulate near Tel Aviv. Israel's relations with the island nation are handled by its embassy in Australia.
Late last year, Australia's Labor government reversed a controversial decision by the previous government to recognise Jerusalem as the capital and to retain the embassy in Tel Aviv.
Israel annexed the eastern part of Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war and regards the city as its "eternal and indivisible" capital, but that is not recognised internationally.
Palestinians want to have the capital of an eventual Palestinian state there.
- Reuters
