During their meeting's, President Funes stated: "We want to strengthen our relationship with Palestine ... and contribute to the reestablishment of talks between Palestine and Israel"[4] President Funes officially recognized Palestine as an independent country.[4] In May 2013, El Salvador and Palestine established diplomatic relations with the visit of Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki to El Salvador.[5] In October 2018, Palestine opened a resident embassy in San Salvador and appointed an ambassador to El Salvador.[6]