Antigua and Barbuda is to establish diplomatic ties with Palestine.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the Organisation of American States (OAS), Sir Ronald Sanders, has received specific instruction from the Prime Minister to establish diplomatic ties with Palestine.

Sir Ron stated that the idea goes beyond the mere recognition of Palestine as a state.

He mentioned, ‘I have started that process, and we had a positive response from Palestine in accordance with the Prime Minister’s request and in agreement with Foreign Affairs Minister EP Chet Greene.’

Recently, Antigua & Barbuda was among 143 countries that voted in favor of a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly for the Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s application for membership in the United Nations.

While recognizing that the granting of membership resides with the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council, the resolution called on the council to act and expand the rights of the State of Palestine as a Permanent Observer in the General Assembly.

Nine countries voted against the resolution, while 25 countries abstained.

“Sir Ron expressed hope that the entire process could be formalized within a matter of weeks, stating, ‘The reason for that is, we want to be able to talk to Palestine as we can talk to Israel now through diplomatic channels in a formal and informal way. We can’t have diplomatic relations with one and not have diplomatic response with the other if we want to try to promote a peaceful settlement,’ the OAS ambassador explained.”