Costa Rica Resumes Relations with Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen
Costa Rica has resumed diplomatic relations with Kuwait, Bahrain and Yemen after Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno's Friday talks with his counterparts from the three Arab countries in New York, the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The diplomatic moves came after the Costa Rica announced on Aug. 16 that it would move its embassy in Israel from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

During a meeting on the sidelines of the 61st United Nations General Assembly, Stagno and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah also discussed UN reforms, the race for the next UN secretary general, and other issues, according to the statement.

Sheikh Mohammad said Kuwait supports Costa Rica's bid for a non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for 2008-2009, and the political consultation mechanisms between Latin American nations and the 22-member Arab League.

Stagno also met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem in New York and exchanged views on resuming the diplomatic relations.

Costa Rica has been steadily rebuilding its relations with Arab nations since the Aug. 16 announcement, and resumed diplomatic relations with Egypt and Jordan in the last two weeks.

Costa Rica moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 1982, chilling its relations with the Arab world.

The status of Jerusalem has been one of the most sensitive issues in the Israel-Palestine dispute.

Israel, which captured the eastern part of Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, claims Jerusalem as its "undivided and eternal" capital.

The Palestinians, however, have been disputing this, vowing to build an independent state with East Jerusalem as their capital.