President of Guatemala on state visit

Otto Fernando Perez Molina to meet with Peres and Netanyahu; has tentative arrangement to meet with Livni.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
President of Guatemala Otto Fernando Perez Molina 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
President of Guatemala Otto Fernando Perez Molina 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Otto Fernando Perez Molina, the president of Guatemala, is scheduled to arrive on Sunday afternoon on the eve of a state visit which officially begins on Monday morning.
The visit starts with a welcome ceremony at the President’s Residence, after which Molina will have a working meeting with President Shimon Peres.
He will then proceed to Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem, and in the evening Peres will host him at a state dinner.
On Tuesday, following a three-hour helicopter tour of Israel, courtesy of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, Molina will have lunch with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Molina also has a tentative arrangement to meet with Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.
On Tuesday evening he will give an address on peace in Guatemala at a reception at the Rabin Center in Tel Aviv, which is being hosted by Guatemalan Ambassador Alfredo Vasquez.
A little over four years ago, the Guatemalan Congress bestowed its highest honor on Israel in appreciation for its sharing of its agricultural know-how which facilitated a vast improvement in Guatemala’s agricultural production.
Israel has also given considerable military aid to Guatemala.
Israel and Guatemala have a long history of cordial relations.
Guatemala was one of the 33 countries that, on November 29, 1947, voted in favor of UN Resolution 181 calling for the partition of Palestine. Guatemala subsequently recognized Israel in its first week of statehood, in May, 1948.
Full diplomatic ties between the two countries were established at the beginning of 1950.