Diplomacy

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WATCH: Netanyahu Welcomes First Jamaican PM to Visit Israel

by TheTower.org Staff |

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, the first holder of his office to visit Israel, to Jerusalem on Thursday.

“I think this is the first visit ever by a prime minister of Jamaica to Israel, so it has a double significance for us,” Netanyahu said during their joint appearance.

Netanyahu also thanked Jamaica for not supporting “the absurd vote in UNESCO,” which denied Jewish historical claims to the Temple Mount, and said that he looked forward to greater cooperation with the Caribbean nation “in a variety of fields that relate to economy, to security, to technology. This is something that we eagerly are interested in doing with you.”

Netanyahu also spoke to Holness of the values shared by their two nations. “There is a natural affinity between us. We’re both democracies. We each have our own challenges but we flourish under challenge. And we’ll be able, I think, to provide a better future for our people if we cooperate, and this visit is a hallmark of cooperation,” he said.

Finally, Netanyahu thanked Holness for his invitation to visit Jamaica and indicated that he intended to do so “sometime in the future.”

Holness also expressed his interest in expanding ties with the Jewish state, especially in the areas of cybersecurity and agriculture. He expressed his condolences over the four Israelis soldiers who were killed in a truck-ramming attack by a Palestinian on Sunday, saying, “we do extend our sympathies to the people of Israel for the very unfortunate attack on your soldiers recently.”

In his address to AIPAC last March, Netanyahu observed that Israel has “diplomatic relations with 161 countries, more than at any time in our history.”

Last July, Netanyahu visited Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. Weeks later, the Republic of Guinea, a Muslim-majority African nation, restored diplomatic ties with Israel after a 49-year break. Israel has a long history of sharing its expertise with African countries, and Jerusalem hopes that stronger ties will lead to a shift in voting trends at the UN and other global fora, thus reversing what Netanyahu called “the automatic majority against Israel.”

In December, following huge brush fires that swept through Israel, Netanyahu met with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and announced the formation of a regional emergency response force for natural disasters.

That month, Netanyahu also made trips to the Asian Muslim-majority nations of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. The prime minister plans to visit the south Pacific, including stops in Fiji, Australia and Singapore, in the coming months.

 

[Photo: IsraeliPM / YouTube ]

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