Giammattei held a meeting with Israel’s Minister of Science, Technology and Space Ofir Akunis on Tuesday in Guatemala City. Akunis attended Giammattei’s swearing in ceremony as the representative of the Israeli government.
"They talked about strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations. At the same time the minister thanked the President-elect for keeping the Guatemalan Embassy in Jerusalem," the Israel in Guatemala Twitter news channel reported.
El Ministro israelí de Ciencia y Tecnología @OfirAkunis, se reunió con el Pdte. electo @DrGiammattei, conversaron sobre estrechar las relaciones bilaterales entre ambas naciones. A la vez el ministro le agradeció al Pdte. electo por mantener la Embajada de Guatemala en Jerusalén pic.twitter.com/TehbDj7oTm
— Israel in Guatemala (@IsraelinGT) January 14, 2020
Israel National News quoted Giammattei as saying on Tuesday that "We will leave the embassy in Jerusalem and declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization."
Giammattei was elected the new president of Guatemala in August 2019. Keeping the embassy in Jerusalem was one of the promises he made as president-elect last year.
The United States announced in May 2018 that it would relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Guatemala’s then-president Jimmy Morales relocated his country’s embassy to Jerusalem soon after.
