Kosovo: First Muslim-Majority Country to Open Jerusalem Embassy

Kosovo’s Ines Demiri said it was the “greatest honor of my life to have this opportunity to open the Embassy and proudly serve my country in Israel.”

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

Kosovo officially announced the opening of its embassy in Jerusalem on Sunday, its pledge “given in the Oval Office today is finally fulfilled.”

Kosovo’s pledge to open an embassy in Jerusalem was made as part of a normalization agreement between Serbia and Kosovo brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump and signed at the White House in September.

Kosovo is the first Muslim majority country to open an embassy in Jerusalem.

Ines Demiri, the first Chargé d’Affairs of Kosovo to Israel, stated that it was the “greatest honor of my life to have this opportunity to open the Embassy and proudly serve my country in Israel.”

Israel’s foreign ministry “warmly welcomed” the opening of Kosovo’s embassy in Jerusalem, “a natural development of the relations and a realization of the Washington agreement.”

Serbia said it will relocate its embassy to Jerusalem by July 2021.

Israel and Kosovo established full diplomatic relations in February in a virtual ceremony held simultaneously in Jerusalem and Pristina, the world’s first such ceremony held through Zoom, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In addition to the document establishing the ties, the two foreign ministers signed memoranda of understanding for policy consultations and a cooperation agreement in the areas of Israel’s international aid program.

During the ceremony, the plaque that was placed on Sunday at the entrance to Kosovo’s new embassy in Jerusalem was revealed.

Kosovo’s embassy opening came just days after the Czech Republic opened a diplomatic office in Jerusalem, an extension of its embassy in Tel Aviv.

The Czech Republic has already established a cultural and trade center in Jerusalem.

The U.S. and Guatemala relocated their embassies to Jerusalem in May 2018.

Honduras, which has a commercial office in Jerusalem, said that it will relocate its embassy to the capital by the end of 2020.

Brazil has a trade office in the capital.

The Dominican Republic, Malawi, and Equatorial Guinea have announced their intentions to open embassies in Jerusalem.

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