The Oceana nation of Papua New Guinea will soon inaugurate an embassy in Jerusalem, officials in Port Moresby confirmed on Monday.
A spokesperson for PNG Prime Minister and Foreign Minister James Marape said that he will pay an official visit to Israel to mark the embassy’s opening, which is scheduled for Sept. 5.
In February, then-PNG Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko first notified his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen that the southwest Pacific nation was interested in opening an embassy in Jerusalem.
The news follows Sierra Leone’s announcement on Friday that it will also open an embassy in Jerusalem.
Paraguay is due to open an embassy in Jerusalem by the end of 2023.
The United States, Guatemala, Honduras and Kosovo are currently the only countries with embassies in Jerusalem. Most of the countries that Israel has diplomatic relations with maintain their embassies in the Tel Aviv area, though several also operate lower-level consulates, trade offices and other missions in the Israeli capital.
Despite the lack of formal recognition, visiting leaders and diplomats routinely meet Israeli leaders in Jerusalem at the Prime Minister’s Office, the President’s Residence and the Knesset.
