Israel–Paraguay Relations

Paraguay’s support for Jewish statehood preceded the establishment of formal diplomatic relations: it voted for the United Nations partition resolution on November 29, 1947.[1] Subsequent ties have combined diplomatic support with practical cooperation in agriculture, water, education, security, trade, and legal matters.[3][7] Presidential visits and bilateral declarations have also emphasized democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and peaceful conflict resolution as shared principles.[3]

The relationship has developed through both resident embassies and periods of nonresident diplomatic representation.[7][8] Budget restrictions caused embassy closures during the early 2000s, while disagreement over Paraguay’s embassy location produced another interruption in Israel’s resident representation in 2018.[5][4] The reopening of Israel’s embassy in Asunción in September 2024 and Paraguay’s embassy in Jerusalem that December restored resident missions in both countries.[9][6]

Economic cooperation connects Israeli technical expertise with Paraguay’s agricultural production and ambitions for industrial development.[3][10] Paraguay’s membership in Mercosur gives the relationship a regional trade dimension, while exchanges involving technology incubators and development assistance have linked commercial opportunities with institutional cooperation.[3][11] By November 2025, the two governments had also signed a memorandum of understanding on security cooperation and were discussing further opportunities in water technologies, advanced agriculture, cyber, and renewable energy.[12]

On November 29, 1947, Paraguay became the 33rd country to vote in favor of the United Nations partition plan for Palestine.[1] Paraguay’s favorable vote became a recurring reference point in later presidential statements about its friendship with Israel.[2][13] Formal diplomatic relations followed in 1949, with a diplomatic missions listing dating Paraguay’s recognition to January of that year.[1][8]

Connections with Jewish people also included Paraguay’s admission of Jewish migrants and refugees from Europe and the Land of Israel before, during, and after the Holocaust.[14] Some refugees used Paraguay as a transit point before continuing to other destinations in South America.[14] These connections formed part of a relationship that later Paraguayan leaders described in historical as well as diplomatic terms.[2][13]

Israel’s early representation in Paraguay operated within a wider South American diplomatic framework.[8][15] Jacob Tsur traveled to Latin America in December 1948 as Israel’s first diplomat in the subcontinent and served from 1949 to 1953 as minister plenipotentiary in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and Paraguay.[15] An Israeli diplomatic missions table likewise identifies Israel’s ambassador in Argentina as responsible for representation in Paraguay.[8]

An Israeli embassy was established in Paraguay in 1968.[7] When Paraguay was elected to the UN Security Council for 1968–1969, Benno Weiser-Varon was appointed Israel’s first ambassador to the country; he ended his diplomatic activities for Israel in 1972.[16]

On May 4, 1970, two armed Palestinians entered the Israeli diplomatic offices in Asunción and fired at employees.[17] Israeli secretary Edna Pe’er was killed, and a local employee was wounded; the attackers were apprehended and received long prison sentences.[17] The wounded employee, Diana Zawluk, survived five bullet wounds, and the attackers had intended to kill Ambassador Weiser-Varon.[16]

Israel closed its embassy in Asunción in 2002 because of financial constraints.[4] Paraguay’s embassy in Israel also closed during the following years amid budget restrictions, although full diplomatic relations continued.[4] The early-2000s closures therefore interrupted resident representation rather than ending the bilateral relationship.[4]

Official contacts continued during this period, including a visit to Israel by Paraguayan Vice President Luis Castiglioni in November 2005.[4] Paraguay subsequently restored its embassy presence in Israel during the following decade, and Israel reopened its embassy in Asunción in July 2015.[4] The renewed period of resident representation accompanied discussions and agreements involving security, water, agriculture, trade, legal matters, and education.[3][7]

Foreign-ministry political dialogue had been taking place since 2015 when the two governments issued their joint declaration the following year.[3] Industry and Commerce Minister Gustavo Leite also visited Israel after the restoration of Paraguay’s embassy presence and reported visiting the Hebrew University’s center for technology and business incubators.[11] These contacts connected renewed diplomatic representation with Paraguay’s interest in Israeli innovation and economic development.[11]

President Horacio Cartes made the first official visit to Israel by a Paraguayan president in July 2016.[4] At a July 19 meeting in Jerusalem, Cartes and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a memorandum of understanding on technical development assistance and discussed security, water, agriculture, trade, and legal matters.[7] Cartes described the countries as business partners sharing common values, expressed admiration for Israelis’ deep sense of history, and recalled Paraguay’s support for the 1947 partition resolution.[2]

The visit also produced declarations and programs involving emergency management, legal cooperation, education, science, culture, youth, and sports.[3] In their joint declaration, the leaders committed to expanding economic ties, trade, investment, and cooperation, while Cartes expressed willingness to coordinate Paraguay’s positions on Israel-related issues in international forums.[3] The declaration linked practical cooperation with continued political dialogue on developments in the Middle East and South America.[3]

Cartes inaugurated Paraguay’s embassy in Jerusalem in May 2018.[13] During the visit, he spoke of the potential for closer relations and presented Paraguay’s economic position as a foundation for cooperation.[13] Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga linked Paraguay’s support for Israel to its 1947 vote and to shared commitments including democracy, human rights, a free press, and the rule of law.[13] Asked about the appropriateness of the Jerusalem move, Cartes replied, “just read the Bible.”[13]

The United States welcomed the relocation, describing Paraguay as a Western Hemisphere partner and encouraging other countries to make similar moves.[18] Paraguay and Guatemala both opened embassies in Jerusalem in May 2018.[5] Paraguay’s embassy was situated next to Guatemala’s, which had opened a week earlier.[7]

After Mario Abdo Benítez succeeded Cartes in August 2018, his administration announced in September that Paraguay’s embassy would return to Tel Aviv.[7] Israel responded by closing its embassy in Paraguay and recalling its ambassador.[7] Netanyahu characterized Paraguay’s reversal as an exceptional decision that would harm relations between the countries.[19]

In a September 2018 telephone conversation, US Vice President Mike Pence urged Abdo Benítez to honor Paraguay’s earlier commitment to an embassy in Jerusalem.[20] Pence described that commitment as evidence of Paraguay’s historic relationship with both Israel and the United States.[20] Abdo Benítez affirmed Paraguay’s lasting partnership with Israel, and the two leaders agreed to work toward a comprehensive and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[20]

Santiago Peña’s election in 2023 brought a renewed commitment to locating Paraguay’s embassy in Jerusalem.[7] In August, Peña and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen agreed that Paraguay would move its embassy and Israel would reopen its embassy in Asunción.[21] Peña had made the relocation a campaign promise.[21] At a September meeting alongside the UN General Assembly, he said Paraguay intended to move its embassy by the end of the year, while Netanyahu confirmed plans for Israel’s mission to return to Asunción.[22]

Israel’s embassy in Asunción was ceremonially reopened in September 2024, with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Ambassador Yoed Magen attending.[9] Peña announced at the ceremony that he would inaugurate Paraguay’s embassy in Jerusalem in December.[9] A mezuzah formerly kept at the home of Naor Hasidim, who was murdered with his partner in Kfar Aza on October 7, was affixed to the embassy door.[9]

Peña began an official visit to Israel on December 11, 2024,[7] and inaugurated Paraguay’s Jerusalem embassy the following day alongside Netanyahu.[23][6] Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also attended the reopening ceremony.[23] Paraguay became the sixth country with an embassy in Jerusalem, joining the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, and Papua New Guinea.[23][6]

During the visit, the countries signed bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding, and Sa’ar announced plans to lead a delegation to Asunción to develop relations further.[23][6] Peña described the reopening as a commitment to shared values and stronger ties for “peace, development and mutual understanding.”[6] In a Knesset address, he reiterated solidarity with Israel, called Jerusalem Israel’s “eternal capital,” and condemned antisemitism.[7] Netanyahu praised Paraguay’s support and criticized the International Criminal Court arrest warrants against him and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.[7]

Israel imported meat from Paraguay, and Paraguay used an Israeli risk-prevention system at the Itaipu Dam, as reported when Israel reopened its Asunción embassy in 2015.[24] The countries had also recently signed agricultural-technology cooperation agreements.[24] These exchanges placed Israeli technology alongside Paraguayan agricultural exports within the commercial relationship.[24]

The Israel–Mercosur free-trade arrangement provides a broader framework for trade with Paraguay and its regional partners.[24][11] The arrangement was intended to reduce barriers including customs duties, import-licensing obstacles, quotas, and import levies.[25] At the time of an account discussing the agreement, Israel’s trade with the four-country bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay was estimated at approximately $1.1 billion; a projection that it could double within three years was a forecast rather than a reported outcome.[25]

The July 2016 joint declaration emphasized Israeli interest in expanding trade with Paraguay and identified Paraguay’s production costs, monetary and legal stability, and location as potential advantages for reaching Mercosur and wider markets.[3] It also described MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, as supporting development-assistance programs and technical capacity in Paraguayan institutions responsible for international cooperation.[3] Both leaders expressed their intention to strengthen these exchanges.[3]

Institutional cooperation extended beyond trade promotion.[3] The declaration welcomed joint declarations of intent on legal cooperation and emergency-cooperation management, together with a 2016–2018 cooperation program in education, science, culture, youth, and sports.[3] It called for work on sustainable development, human rights, the environment, and climate change, and encouraged peaceful nuclear-energy cooperation, particularly radiological applications in medicine and agriculture.[3]

Gustavo Leite visited Israel in June 2017 for the third time since becoming Paraguay’s industry and commerce minister in August 2013.[10] He met Israeli and Paraguayan business representatives and argued that cooperation with Israel could assist Paraguay’s next stage of development, especially its ambitions to expand manufacturing and innovation.[10] Renewable energy was among the fields in which he sought to learn from Israeli experience.[10]

Paraguay was described at the time as a major agricultural producer with electricity consumption growing by 12 percent annually.[10] Leite discussed renewable energy in the context of an expanding economy and the prospect that existing electricity supplies from Itaipu would become less sufficient.[10] He also sought to attract manufacturing and consumer-goods production, including production for export to neighboring Brazil; these were contemporary development plans rather than evidence of later outcomes.[10]

Business assessments in 2017 identified Paraguay’s central location, river-barge transport connections, relatively low energy and labor costs, and tax incentives as possible advantages for Israeli companies.[26] They also identified limitations: the country’s inland location could increase shipping costs to distant markets, and shortages of personnel suited to senior management and advanced-technology roles could constrain investment.[26] These assessments concerned the conditions and opportunities described at that time.[26]

By November 2025, Sa’ar reported bilateral trade of $133 million in 2023 and more than $212 million in 2024, adding that trade during 2025 had already exceeded the previous year’s total.[12] He noted existing trade in technological and agricultural equipment and identified water technologies, advanced agriculture, cyber, and renewable energy as areas for deeper cooperation.[12]

In April 2025, Paraguay designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and expanded its existing designations of Hamas and Hezbollah to include their political and social wings.[27] Israel and the United States praised the decision, and Sa’ar urged other countries to follow Paraguay’s example.[27] During his subsequent visit to Asunción, Sa’ar thanked Peña for these measures as part of the countries’ developing security relationship.[12]

Sa’ar met Peña and senior Paraguayan officials in November 2025 to discuss bilateral and economic relations, developments in the Middle East and South America, and security cooperation.[7][12] The visit resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding on security cooperation.[12] This added a further formal instrument to a relationship that had already included security discussions during Cartes’s 2016 visit.[7]

International coordination has also featured prominently in presidential and foreign-ministry exchanges.[3] The 2016 joint declaration affirmed democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and peaceful conflict resolution under international law, while committing the governments to continued coordination on international issues.[3] Cartes specifically expressed willingness to coordinate Paraguay’s positions on Israel-related questions in international forums.[3]

During Cartes’s presidency, from 2013 to 2018, Paraguay abstained on UN votes concerning the Palestinian question and the territories.[11] Paraguay was also among the relatively few countries that did not condemn Israel during the 2014 Gaza war.[26] These positions accompanied the wider expansion of political and commercial ties during that period.[11]

In September 2024, Paraguay voted against a Palestinian proposal to impose an arms embargo on Israel.[28] It was one of 14 countries reported to have voted against the proposal, while 124 voted in favor and 43 abstained.[28] A US Senate resolution welcoming Peña in May 2024 characterized Paraguay, alongside the United States, as consistently supporting Israel’s right to self-defense.[29]

Paraguayan leaders have repeatedly connected contemporary cooperation with the country’s support for Jewish statehood in 1947.[2][13] Cartes invoked that history during both his 2016 visit and the diplomacy surrounding the 2018 embassy relocation.[2][13] His statements combined admiration for Israelis’ historical consciousness with an emphasis on shared values and business partnership.[2]

Israeli technological achievement has been another prominent theme in the relationship.[11] Paraguayan media coverage, apart from reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, presented Israel as a model for technological and economic modernization, particularly through its high-tech industry and associated international connections.[11] Ministerial visits to technology incubators, interest in renewable energy, and cooperation in agriculture and water gave practical expression to that interest.[10][11]

Peña similarly presented the relationship as extending beyond commercial interests.[28] At the September 2024 reopening of Israel’s embassy, he described ties as grounded in faith, hope, and the shared ability to imagine and realize ambitions.[28] At Paraguay’s Jerusalem embassy reopening, he emphasized peace, development, and mutual understanding, while Sa’ar described the friendship as based on values and principles as well as interests.[6]

Jerusalem’s status and the location of foreign embassies there are politically contested, and Paraguay’s successive embassy decisions became a significant diplomatic dispute.[5][18] Abdo Benítez said he had not been consulted about the original 2018 relocation, while his foreign minister, Luis Alberto Castiglioni, presented its reversal as a contribution to regional efforts for a fair and lasting Middle East peace.[1][19] Accounts of the reversal also associated it with concern that the Jerusalem move could jeopardize Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.[1]

Peña offered a different interpretation in 2024, describing the earlier reversal as motivated mainly by “internal revenge” rather than considerations involving Israeli citizens.[23] These explanations represent competing political accounts of the decision rather than a single established motive.[1][19]