Israel–Uruguay relations are the bilateral ties between the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and the

Oriental Republic of Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. Uruguay was the first country in South America—and the fourth worldwide—to recognize the State of Israel.

History

On 29 November 1947, Uruguay voted in favor for the

Partition of Palestine The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations to partition Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. Drafted by the U.N. Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) on 3 September 1947, the Pl ...

which led to the creation of the State of Israel. On May 19, 1948, Uruguay recognized Israel, and the two countries established diplomatic relations. The Israeli embassy in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

was the fourth Israeli embassy to be established worldwide. In 1948, future Israeli President

Yitzhak Navon Yitzhak Rachamim Navon (; 9 April 1921 – 6 November 2015) was an Israeli politician, diplomat, playwright, and author. He served as the president of Israel between 1978 and 1983 as a member of the centre-left Alignment party. He was the f ...

headed a diplomatic delegation to Uruguay. In May 1986, Uruguayan President

Julio Maria Sanguinetti Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) *Julio (surname) *Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...

paid an official visit to Israel, becoming the first Uruguayan head of state to do so. During his visit to Israel, both nations signed agreements in the fields of social security, investments and medical and veterinary care. In August 2008, Uruguayan President

Tabaré Vázquez Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas (; 17 January 19406 December 2020) was a Uruguayan politician and oncologist who served as the 39th and 41st President of Uruguay from 2005 to 2010 and from 2015 to 2020. During his political career, Vázquez was a ...

paid an official visit to Israel. During his visit to the country, both nations signed an agreement to promote industrial research and development. In 2010, Israel signed a Free Trade Agreement with

Mercosur The Southern Common Market (commonly known by abbreviation ''Mercosur'' in Spanish and ''Mercosul'' in Portuguese) is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full me ...

(which includes Uruguay). In 2016, the Israeli embassy in Montevideo transferred supplies to aid flood victims in Uruguay, where more than 13,000 people were displaced. Uruguay maintained an embassy in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

from 1954 to 1980. On 29 September 2020, Uruguay fired one of its top diplomats after

UN Watch UN Watch is a Geneva-based non-governmental organization (NGO) whose stated mission is "to monitor the performance of the United Nations by the yardstick of its own Charter". It is an accredited NGO in Special Consultative Status to the UN Eco ...

exposed the country’s vote for a UN resolution that singled out Israel alone in the world for supposedly violating women’s rights. Uruguay’s Foreign Minister

Francisco Bustillo Francisco Carlos Bustillo Bonasso (born April 1, 1960) is a Uruguayan diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Relations of Uruguay from July 6, 2020 to November 1, 2023. Bustillo entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay by merit co ...

declared that his country’s UN vote against Israel was a “circumstantial error,” and removed the foreign ministry’s director-general of political affairs, Ambassador Pablo Sader, and that Uruguay’s “foreign policy will keep its historical stance to defend the rights of Israel.” In August 2023 it was announced that Uruguay would open a diplomatic office in Jerusalem aimed at boosting cooperation "in the field of innovation". The announcement prompted the

UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories The Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, formally the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, is a special rapporteur who works for the United Nations and re ...

Francesca Albanese Francesca P. Albanese (; born 30 March 1977) is an Italian legal scholar and expert on human rights. On 1 May 2022, she was appointed United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories for a three-year term, which ...

, as well as the Embassy of Palestine in Uruguay, to request that the Uruguayan government reconsider its decision. The office was inaugurated in December 2024 and is overseen by the National Agency for Research and Innovation of Uruguay, which signed an agreement with the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

. In May 2025, Uruguay summoned the Israeli ambassador to Uruguay after the Israeli Defense Forces fired warning shots upon towards diplomats during a diplomatic visit in

Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...

Resident diplomatic missions

* Israel has an embassy in

. * Uruguay has an embassy in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Israel-Uruguay relations Bilateral relations of Uruguay

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

History

Resident diplomatic missions

See also

References