By Dan WilliamsJERUSALEM (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem on Tuesday, becoming only the fifth country with a full diplomatic mission in a city whose status is one of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East. Political Cartoons on World Leaders View All 226 ImagesIsrael will pay for the embassy, located in a high-rise opposite Jerusalem's biggest mall, for the first two years, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape was quoted in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier newspaper. "Many nations choose not to open their embassies in Jerusalem, but we have made a conscious choice," Marape said at the embassy's inauguration ceremony. "For us to call ourselves Christian, paying respect to God will not be complete without recognizing that Jerusalem is the universal capital of the people and the nation of Israel," Marape said. Papua New Guinea, which occupies the eastern half of the West Pacific Island of New Guinea, has an economy based on agriculture and mining.

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Persons: Dan Williams JERUSALEM, Israel, James Marape, Marape, Benjamin Netanyahu, Wassel Abu Youssef, Netanyahu, Kirsty Needham, Maayan Lubell, Ali Sawafta, Dan Williams, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Israel, Papua New Guinea, Papua New, Courier, United Nations, Washington, Palestine Liberation Organisation, West Locations: Papua New Guinea, Israel, Jerusalem, United States, Kosovo, Guatemala, Honduras, Tel Aviv, Papua New, Papua, New Guinea