Preparations in Israel for the visit of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro

Israel was preparing this Saturday to welcome the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who will land at Ben Gurion airport Sunday morning around 10:00 local time.

According to the department of logistics, operations and property of the Ministry of Defense, responsible for organizing the welcome ceremony, 1,500 meters of tents, scenes, a 58-meter red carpet and hundreds of flags from both states were installed at the airport.

During a historic visit – this is Bolsonaro's first trip to Israel – the leader will perform a an official four-day stay in the country, where it is possible to announce the opening of an office in Jerusalem, a step prior to the decision to transfer or not the embbady of Brazil in the Holy City.

"Bolsonaro said that he demanded studies for evaluate the installation of a business office in Jerusalem which establishes the advantages and disadvantages of the different possibilities, "Efe told an official Brazilian source.

In return, reports an article published in the newspaper Haaretz, Israel will collaborate information and opportunities to help Bolsonaro in one of its priority themes: national security The two leaders met in the country last December, where one of the problems was selling unmanned Israeli planes to Brazil.

Upon your arrival, the Brazilian delegation will travel to Jerusalem, where the South American leader will meet Netanyahu to sign several bilateral agreements in the fields of science and technology, defense, public safety, air services, health and medicine.

Then he will hold a work meeting with the Prime Minister, with whom he will later dine at the official residence.

The president's delegation includes Foreign Ministers Ernesto Araújo; mines and energy, Bento Costa Lima; science and technology, Marco Pontes; and institutional security, Augusto Heleno Ribeiro.

He will also be accompanied by the chief of staff of the Brazilian armed forces, Lieutenant-Brigadier Raúl Botelho, as well as senators and deputies.

On Monday, the Brazilian leader will visit the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, the most sacred temple of Christianity and the Wailing Wall, the most sacred place of worship for Jews, located in occupied East Jerusalem, and which their office incorporated in the program of the official visit to Israel.

Admiration of Netanyahu

Bolsonaro repeatedly reiterated that he viewed Israel as a reference, as well as his admiration for Netanyahu's policy, which he had attended three months ago in Brazil during the inauguration ceremony.

Good relations between Israel and Brazil were highlighted last January, with the dispatch of 132 soldiers from different units of the Israeli army to help in rescue tasks after the disaster caused by the collapse of a dam in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

Before becoming president, Bolsonaro went to Israel in 2016 to be baptized in the Jordan, symbol of evangelical symbols for evangelical Christians.

The sons of Bolsonaro, Eduardo and Carlos, were photographed during a visit that year with T-shirts from the Israeli army and Mossad. Eduardo then wrote on his Twitter account that Israel was "a first-world country admiring its armed forces and the police".

This new meeting will take place when there are only a few days left for the general elections in Israel on April 9, during which Netanyahu is playing his mandate.