Papua New Guinea’s prime minister James Marape says his nation’s strong Christian faith was one of the reasons for opening an embassy in Jerusalem this week. PNG is only the fifth country to open an embassy in the Israeli capital. It’s effectively a symbolic move, underwritten by the Israeli government which will pay for the running costs of the office for the first three years.
At a ceremony attended by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr. Marape said: “Today is a milestone moment for my country Papua New Guinea. We are here to give respect to the people of Israel to the fullest.” The Times of Israel quotes him as saying his country subscribes fully to the teachings of the Bible.
Mr. Marape added that Papua New Guinea opened its embassy in Jerusalem “because of our shared heritage, acknowledging the creator God, the Yahweh God of Israel, the Yahweh God of Isaac and Abraham. Many nations choose not to open their embassies in Jerusalem but we made the conscious choice. For us to call ourselves Christians, paying respect to God would not be complete without recognising that Jerusalem is the universal capital of the people and nation of Israel.”
“You have been the great custodian of the moral values that were passed for humanity,” the PNG leader said to Mr. Netanyahu.
Read the article by Tony Davenport on Vision Christian Media.