Hotovely with Urugay Foreign Minister
Hotovely with Urugay Foreign MinisterCourtesy of Foreign Ministry

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely met with the Foreign Ministry of Uruguay, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Thursday.

Novoa also met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his visit to Israel.

Uruguay is one of Israel's closest allies in South America, and has a seat on the UN Security Council. It is also a member of the Southern Common Market, a regional trading bloc including Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela. Israel is the only country to have a free trade agreement with the Southern Common Market.

Hotovely said that Israel would be "happy to extend the agreement and to apply it to other industries." She thanked Novoa for Uruguay's role on the UN Security Council in preventing unilater moves by the Palestinian Authority and stressed that such moves harm the cause of peace and even harm the cause of the Palestinian Arabs.

"The Palestinian attempts to undermine the status of Jerusalem as th capital of the Jewish people will not succeed. These actions ultimately undermine the status of UNESCO and the Christian world together."

Novoa is expected to meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in several days. Hotovely asked him to convey a message to Abbas, to "stop the diplomatic terrorism" against Israel.

She added that "Israel will be glad to share its techincal knowledge with Uruguay. including in the areas of agriculture and cyberspace."