Bolivia’s new government on Tuesday said that it had restored diplomatic relations with Israel, the latest sign of a geopolitical realignment under way in the South American country that was once among the most vocal critics of Israeli policies toward Palestinians.
Bolivian Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando Aramayo met with Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar in Washington and signed a declaration agreeing to revive bilateral ties, which Bolivia’s previous government severed two years ago over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
The Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the two countries would reinstate ambassadors in the near future and dispatch officials on visits.
Photo: Reuters
As part of a new foreign policy strategy under Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, the rapprochement “represents a return to trust, intelligent cooperation and the ties that have always existed, but which are now being revitalized with a modern perspective,” the Bolivian ministry said in a statement after the meeting late on Tuesday.
Aramayo, as well as Bolivian Minister of Economic Affairs Jose Gabriel Espinoza, this week met with US officials as their government works to improve relations with the US and unravel nearly two decades of anti-Western policies under the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party that left Bolivia economically isolated and diplomatically allied with China, Russia and Venezuela.
Paz’s government last week eased visa restrictions on American and Israeli travelers.
In announcing his meeting with Aramayo on Monday, Saar thanked Bolivia for scrapping Israeli visa controls and said he spoke to Paz after his Oct. 19 election victory to express “Israel’s desire to open a new chapter” in relations with Bolivia.
Paz entered office last month, ending the dominance of the MAS party founded by former Bolivian president Evo Morales. Not long after taking power, Morales sent Israel’s ambassador packing, and cozied up to Iran over their shared enmity toward the US and Israel.
When protests over Morales’ disputed 2019 re-election prompted him to resign under pressure from the military, an interim government took over and restored full diplomatic relations with the US and Israel as it sought to undo many of Morales’ popular policies.
However, the 2020 elections brought MAS back to power. Then-Bolivian president Luis Arce in 2023 once again cut ties with Israel in protest over its military actions in Gaza.
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