Israel and Venezuela have taken another step toward restoring ties, with Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon announcing on Monday that he had met his Venezuelan counterpart, Coromoto Godoy Calderón, following the countries’ agreement to reestablish consular relations.
The meeting marked a notable development after years of severed relations between Jerusalem and Caracas. Danon said the two diplomats discussed strengthening bilateral ties, the renewal of consular cooperation and Israel’s humanitarian assistance to Venezuela following the earthquakes that struck the country.
“We discussed strengthening relations between our countries, renewing consular ties, and the Israeli assistance sent to Venezuela following the earthquake,” Danon wrote on social media.
“Israel and Venezuela will continue working to deepen our cooperation, both internationally and at the United Nations,” he added.
Israel and Venezuela announced several weeks ago that they had agreed to restore consular relations following talks between Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia.
Under the agreement, the countries will establish a dedicated coordination mechanism to provide consular services to their respective citizens. The arrangement represents the first formal coordination channel between Israel and Venezuela since diplomatic relations were severed in 2009.
The two sides also agreed to maintain cooperation on emergency response and reconstruction following two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24.
Israel dispatched a humanitarian delegation to Venezuela after the earthquakes, with the team remaining in the country for about a month before returning to Israel.
Relations between the two countries were cut in early 2009, when then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez severed diplomatic ties with Israel in protest of Operation Cast Lead against Hamas in Gaza. Chavez subsequently strengthened Venezuela’s relationship with Iran, a policy that continued under his successor, Nicolas Maduro.
Relations began to shift following Maduro’s capture by the United States. In February, Bloomberg reported that Venezuela had sent Israel its first shipment of crude oil since mid-2020.
In early July, Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez publicly praised Israel after its humanitarian delegation arrived to assist Venezuelan authorities following the devastating earthquakes.
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