Mexican President Formally Receives Palestinian Ambassador, Reaffirms Support for Palestine

By Staff, Agencies

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has officially accepted the credentials of Palestinian Ambassador Nadya R. H. Rasheed at the National Palace in Mexico City.

The two posed for a photo shared by the Palestinian Embassy on X, accompanied by a message from Rasheed expressing gratitude for Mexico’s stance on the war waged by "Israel" against Gaza.

As Mexico’s first Jewish and female president, Sheinbaum has advocated for the recognition of an independent Palestinian state.

Last October, she condemned "the aggression being experienced by the Palestinian people." Her acceptance of the Palestinian ambassador’s credentials comes amid "Israel’s" renewed onslaught in Gaza, which has killed at least 700 Palestinians in recent days, nearly half of them children.

Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador officially recognized the State of Palestine in June 2023, upgrading the Palestinian mission in Mexico from a special delegation to a full embassy. This marked a shift in Mexico’s diplomatic policy, as it had previously refrained from formally recognizing Palestinian statehood.

Diplomatic relations between Mexico and Palestine date back to 1975, when then-President Luis Echeverría Álvarez met Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Egypt. In 1995, Mexico elevated the status of Palestine’s representation to a Special Delegation, and in 2013, for the first time, a Palestinian representative formally presented credentials to the Mexican government.

In May 2024, Mexico filed a declaration of intervention under Article 63 of the International Court of Justice's [ICJ] statute, seeking to join South Africa’s genocide case against "Israel." Other Latin American nations—including Brazil, Cuba and Venezuela—have also voiced support for the case but have yet to file formal requests to join.

Mexico has also backed the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East [UNRWA], recognizing its crucial role in delivering humanitarian aid to nearly six million Palestinian refugees across West Asia.