Bolivia Renews Diplomatic Relations With Israel After Over Decade of Severed Ties

Bolivia announced Thursday that it will renew its diplomatic ties with Israel after a decade in which relations between the two countries were severed.

Speaking to foreign press, Bolivian Foreign Minister Karen Longaric said: "We are going to restore relations with Israel." 

Longaric said that diplomatic ties will resume "out of respect for the sovereignty of the state, cordiality and that relations could lead to positive aspects for both sides and contribute to Bolivian 
tourism."

Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz welcomed Bolivia's decision to restore relations with Israel, saying it "will contribute to the strengthening of the country's foreign relations and its standing in the world."

Katz said that the "Foreign Ministry has been working for a long time directly as well as through mediation of the Brazilin president to promote the renewal of relations, adding that "I've recently discussed the matter with the Brazilian foreign minister at the UN General Assembly in New York."

"The resignation of President Morales, who was hostile to Israel, and his replacement with a friendly administration, has enabled the process to come to fruition," Katz said. 

In 2010, President Evo Morales formally recognized Palestine as an independent and sovereign state within the 1967 borders.