Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will embark on a diplomatic mission to Paraguay and Argentina on Monday, accompanied by a business delegation aimed at expanding economic ties.
In Paraguay, Sa’ar will meet with President Santiago Peña and address a special joint session of Congress in Asunción. He will also hold talks with Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano.
The minister’s Argentina itinerary includes meetings with President Javier Milei and newly appointed Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, as well as 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.
“Deepening our ties with Argentina and Paraguay—two of Israel’s greatest friends in the world—is of great importance to us,” Sa’ar was quoted as saying in the ministry’s Sunday statement.
“Argentina and Paraguay have stood firmly with Israel over the past two years during the war, and they continue to stand with Israel resolutely in the international arena and in international institutions,” the minister continued.
“The goals of the visit are to strengthen diplomatic coordination and to deepen the bilateral and economic relations between Israel and its partners in Latin America,” he said.
Paraguay restored its embassy in Jerusalem in December of last year, fulfilling an election campaign promise by Peña, an ardent supporter of the Jewish state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Peña for his country’s support at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked President Peña for his unwavering support of Israel and his firm stance against antisemitism and against terror, which was expressed also in Paraguay’s designations of the IRGC, Hezbollah and Hamas as terror organizations,” Netanyahu’s office said at the time. “The prime minister expressed his appreciation for Paraguay’s staunch opposition to anti-Israeli bias at the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and other international bodies.”
Netanyahu also thanked Milei for his strong support for Israel. The Argentine leader announced during his visit to Israel in June this year that Argentina will open its embassy in Jerusalem in 2026.
In his meeting with Argentina’s leader at the General Assembly, Netanyahu “expressed his deep appreciation for President Milei, a true friend of the State of Israel and the Jewish People, who has stood steadfast against the systematic bias directed at Israel at the U.N. and in other international forums,” the PMO said. “The two leaders discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation on economic matters and in other areas.”
