Israel FM: Argentina may open Jerusalem embassy this spring

Israel is expecting Argentine President Javier Milei to visit in April or May to open his country’s embassy in Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Tuesday.

“We hope to have the president in April or May to open Argentina’s embassy in Jerusalem, D.C.—David’s Capital,” said Sa’ar in an address to the Israel-Argentina Business Forum alongside Argentina’s Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, who he noted will be visiting the Jewish state in February.

Milei announced during his visit to Israel in June that Argentina will open its embassy in Jerusalem in 2026.

Israel’s top diplomat also announced that Israel will be opening an Economic Attaché Office in Buenos Aires next year, stressing that Israel wants to “dramatically increase” investments in Argentina.

Sa’ar brought a business and economic delegation from Israel to accompany him on his diplomatic and trade trip to Paraguay and Argentina, which aimed at expanding economic cooperation between the countries, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The group included senior government officials, company representatives and key economic leaders.

In the address, Sa’ar also said that Jerusalem is keen to boost imports from Argentina, and updated the announcement on establishing direct flights between the two countries made during Milei’s visit in June.

“A government decision was approved. And we are now moving to the operational stage. I hope and I believe it won’t be long and this will boost our economic relations,” said Sa’ar.

Calling it an honor to meet “one of the world’s boldest and most impressive leaders,” Sa’ar said in a post on X that he met with Milei in Buenos Aires on Tuesday during his diplomatic visit, where the two discussed their “extraordinary bilateral relations.”

“The economic delegation accompanying me today is an expression of our belief in the president’s bold economic reforms and Argentina’s economy under his leadership,” said the Israeli foreign minister.

He concluded his comments by thanking Milei for “standing consistently by Israel on the international stage. Argentina, under President Milei’s leadership, is one of Israel’s best friends in the world. We’ll continue strengthening these extraordinary relations!”

Sa’ar also met on Tuesday with Quirno, thanking him for his “warm hospitality” in the Argentine capital and saying that they “had great discussions on our extraordinary bilateral relations,” including working on the direct flights between Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires.

Sa’ar also met with Martin Menem, president of Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies, and members of the chamber.

“I told them that we want to be partners in Argentina’s success story, under President Milei’s leadership. We discussed parliamentary exchanges and deepening our economic cooperation,” he said.

Sa’ar laid a wreath at a monument honoring Argentine national hero General Jose de San Martin in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.

He was scheduled to attend memorial events for victims of the 1992 Israeli Embassy bombing and 1994 AMIA Jewish center attack, both attributed to Hezbollah and which killed 29 and 85 people, respectively. Sa’ar will also speak at the 90th anniversary celebration of DAIA, Argentina’s umbrella organization for Jewish institutions.

Israel’s top diplomat visited Paraguay on Monday, where he signed a memorandum of understanding on security cooperation.

“Paraguay is developing major defense capabilities. Israel’s defense industry has experience and capabilities that we want to share with you,” said Sa’ar during a press conference with Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano.

In honor of the visit, the South American nation held a special session of both houses of Congress in the capital Asunción, playing Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikva,” in Sa’ar’s presence.

Sa’ar also met with Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña, whom he described as “one of the most impressive leaders on the international stage today.”

He thanked Peña for moving his country’s embassy to Jerusalem—a promise first made by his predecessor in 2018—and for designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, as well as the so‑called “political” wings of Hamas and Hezbollah.