B'nai B'rith Attends the Inauguration of Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes

B´nai B´rith attended all the events celebrated in Paraguay August 15 - 16 that marked the Inauguration of President Horacio Cartes.

The ceremony where Cartes pledged before the President of Congress was attended by 3,000 people and B'nai B'rith was invited to the restricted zone of special guests: Presidents, Congressmen, businessmen, Officers of International agencies, and other dignataries. President Cartes delivered a strong speech based in three principles:  combating poverty will be his first priority; open door policies for investments in order to produce richness to help combating poverty; opening doors to deal with democratic governments of the region and outside the region. In the ceremony, the new Ministers pledged before the President. Eladio Loizaga, a diplomat, former Ambassador to UN became the Foreign Minister.

There were two huge receptions, one hosted by the Foreign Minister and the ther by the President, and a breakfast for 500 guests hosted by the President and his Cabinet to expolain about "Paraguay, land of opportunities".

B´nai B´rith had several bilateral conversations with Paraguay Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga; with Israeli Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zeev Elkin; with Israeli Director for Latrin America of the Foreign Ministery Ambassador Itzhak Shoham; with Israeli Ambassador to Argentina and Paraguay Dorit Shavit; with Presidential Adviser of the Paraguayan President for Doreign Affairs Leila Raschid;with the leader of the majority in the Senate in Paraguay,former Vice President Luis Castiglioni;with Foreign Minister of Uruguay Luis Almagro;with Max Haber, who will be the Paraguayan Ambassador to Israel and will reopen that Embassy in less than a month; with several Congressmen from Uruguay and Paraguay; with former Presidents of Uruguay Luis Lacalle and Julio Sanguinetti; with businessmen, special guests of President Cartes from Europe, United States and South America.

The reopening of the Paraguayan Embassy in Israel has brought the relations between both countries closer. The Paraguayan Government is interested in strengthening bilateral relations with Israel as well as pursuing an independent policy of supporting Israel in international forums, as opposed to the voting patterns of the vast majority of Latin American states. Paraguay and Colombia were the only South American countries that did not vote for granting the Palestinians non-member statehood status in the UN General Assembly last year.

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Claudio Epelman (Latin American Jewish Congress); Ambassador Itzhak Shoham, Director for Latin America, Foreign Ministry, Israel; PARAGUAY FOREIGN MINISTER ELADIO LOIZAGA; and B'nai B'rith's Eduardo Kohn (L-R)

Claudio Epelman (Latin American Jewish Congress); B'nai B'rith's Eduardo Kohn; Zeev Elkin, Israeli Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Dorit Shavit, Israeli Ambassador to Argentina and Paraguay (L-R)