Minister defends decision to waive visa requirements with Israel

Another hot button issue which has provoked the ire of the public was the decision to grant visa waivers to Israeli nationals. Israel is known is to be a top supplier of arms to Guatemala which is claiming as much as fifty percent of Belizean territory so that move set off a flurry of condemnation. The explanation from the Foreign Minister on Open your Eyes, was that the wavier was agreed to by Cabinet and it would bring revenue to Belize.

Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs
“Always understand that these things are not done by me, it is done by my Cabinet. And how Cabinet will agree to such a thing? Well, every single country in the region has that kind of arrangement with Israel. You have thousands of Israeli young people come to Guatemala and go back because they can’t come into Belize without a visa, come to Mexico and go back because they can’t come into Belize without a visa. If they were only allowed to come, if we would have three thousand coming in a year and each of them spend one dollar it is going to create three thousand US dollars more for Belize at a time when we desperately are in need of economic development and when the tourism industry needs to be boosted. So it was really from that point of view.”