Malawi will become the third nation and the first African nation to open an embassy in Israel's capital of Jerusalem, the country's Foreign Minister Eisenhower Mkaka announced Tuesday during a visit to Israel.
The announcement follows the pledge by Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera in September that Malawi would open its first ever diplomatic mission in Israel and that the mission would be in Jerusalem.
The United States relocated its embassy to Jerusalem in May, 2018, following US President Donald Trump's recognition of the holy city as the capital of Israel. Guatemala also opened an embassy in Jerusalem that same month.
No other nations have opened an embassy in Jerusalem since then. However, several other nations have either pledged to move their embassies to Jerusalem or stated that they would consider the matter, including Honduras,Romania, Brazil, Australia, and the Czech Republic.
Paraguay also moved its embassy to the Israeli capital in 2018 – only to move it back to Tel Aviv.
Jerusalem and Malawi have had diplomatic relations since 1964. However, neither nation has had an embassy in the other's territory until now.