Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister continued on from his meetings in Qatar last week to other regions of the Middle East to continue to court economic interests in Costa Rica’s markets.

 

Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel González held a private meeting last week as part of his participation at the World Economic Forum in Jordan with His Majesty King Abdallah II of Jordan and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi.

The visit was one of a series of conferences and meetings in the Middle East attended by the Costa Rican diplomatic mission in which new ground was broken in furthering diplomatic relations with countries in the region.

The meeting explored the topic of foreign direct investment by Jordan in Costa Rica, which prompted King Abdallah II to suggest sending a trade mission to Costa Rica. González also drummed up support for tourism in Costa Rica at the Jordanian Chamber of Commerce by encouraging flights from Jordan.

Minister González also met with His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Director General of the Crown Prince Abu Dhabi Court (ADIA) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to thank them for their donation last year of US$10 million for reconstruction efforts after Hurricane Otto.

Relations with the United Arab Emirates will move to the next level at a round of trade talks to deal with taxation and other policies in San José from May 22 – 24.

After leaving Jordan, González Sanz made an official visit to Israel also to discuss political and commercial matters, said the Foreign Ministry.

Ideas for cooperation with Israel were broached with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in areas such as cybersecurity, the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking, water treatment and resource management, technical cooperation, the exchange of state-of-the-art technology, tourism, public security, and agriculture.

Netanyahu said there was a possibility of sending an Israeli mission to analyze specific possibilities for Israel to support Costa Rica.

Israel expressed interest in forming part of the Central American Integration System (SICA, its initials in Spanish) as an observer member, and strengthening connections with the private sector.

Netanyahu mentioned that “Costa Rica is a small country without an army and should be a model for the world.” To which González responded, “Costa Rica does not seek to impose its model on the world, but we are proud of our decision not to invest in an army and instead to strengthen the social system, education and health.”

Netanyahu expressed interest in Costa Rica reviewing some resolutions on Israel in multilateral organizations, to which González responded that, “Costa Rica each year makes an exhaustive review, analysis and study on a case-by-case basis according to the situation and the merits of each one and … exercises a responsible, individual and sovereign decision based on this analysis, and that it will continue its multilateral participation along these lines.”

González made a petition to the President of the State of Israel, Reuvén Rivlin on establishing greater communication, facilitating information on both multilateral and regional issues, and strengthening certain areas of cooperation, such as the promotion of trade flows, especially regarding Costa Rican pineapple exports to Israel.