BOGOTA – Colombia recognized Palestine as a sovereign state in the daysbefore new President Ivan Duque took office, according to a letter from theforeign ministry made public on Wednesday.

“I would like to inform you that in the name of the government of Colombia,President Juan Manuel Santos has decided to recognize Palestine as a free,independent and sovereign state,” said the letter dated August 3.

The letter was signed by Santos’s foreign minister Maria Angela Holguin.

New Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes said he would review the “implications”of the previous government’s decision, in accordance with international lawand good diplomatic practice.

“It is a priority for this government to maintain cooperative relationswith its allies and friends, and to contribute to international peace andsecurity,” Holmes said.

Before the announcement, Colombia had been one of only two countries in theregion, along with Panama, not to recognize Palestinian statehood.

Bogota, an ally of the United States, has historically maintained closeties with Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been scheduled to arrive inColombia on Monday but called off the trip at the last minute, saying heneeded to focus on developments along his country’s border with the GazaStrip.

The Palestinian mission in Bogota told AFP that they were told of thedecision last Friday. It welcomed the move by Bogota as evidence of”profound efforts to reach a rapprochement.” – APP/AFP