Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he will be visiting Colombia next week to attend the inauguration of the country’s newly elect president Ivan Duque, The Times of Israel reported.

Several presidents from Latin America are expected to attend Duque’s inauguration and Netanyahu is expected to have bilateral meetings with officials from the region including the presidents of Argentina, Honduras and Guatemala while he is in Colombia for the swearing-in ceremony.

Duque has expressed that he wishes to continue Israel’s and Colombia’s good relations, and at a May campaign event he hinted that he wouldn’t rule out moving the embassy to Jerusalem. Duque was heavily criticized by his opponents due to his embassy comment.

In September 2017, Netanyahu spent three hours in Bogota, was able to meet with president Juan Manuel Santos and members of the Jewish community, and signed two bilateral agreements on science and tourism.

Colombia is considered one of Israel’s closest allies in the region as both countries have close political, military, and economic ties.

This will be the second time Netanyahu visits the region in less than one year. Last year, Netanyahu’s historic visit to several Latin American countries made headlines  as he went to and met with officials from Argentina, Colombia and Mexico before attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

[Photo: BBC Newsnight / YouTube ]