The Pacific island nation of Nauru formally opened its first embassy in Israel on Monday, choosing to locate the mission in Jerusalem and becoming the ninth country with a diplomatic post in the Israeli capital.
The opening ceremony was attended by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Nauru’s vice president and foreign minister, Lionel Aingimea. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the move reflected close ties between the two countries and Nauru’s commitment to expanding bilateral relations.
“Israel’s relations with the nations of the South Pacific are advancing tremendously,” Sa’ar said at the ceremony, according to Israeli officials. The two officials had agreed to the embassy opening during a meeting in Fiji in June 2025.
A small nation with an outsized diplomatic role
Nauru, an island nation of roughly 12,000 people and one of the smallest countries in the world by population, has positioned itself as a reliable diplomatic partner for Israel among Pacific Island states, several of which have shifted their positions on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the past decade.
Most countries maintain their embassies to Israel in or near Tel Aviv rather than Jerusalem, a legacy of the international community’s historic reluctance to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital given the city’s disputed status and its significance to Israelis and Palestinians alike. The United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, and a handful of other nations, mostly small Pacific and Central American states, have since followed.
Nauru previously operated only an honorary consulate arrangement with Israel before Monday’s move to open a full embassy.
Sources: The Times of Israel · i24NEWS
