When asked by reporters on Thursday about whether he would move Brazil's Israel embassy to Jerusalem as he has repeatedly floated, Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro backtracked and told reporters in Brasilia that the government may instead open a "business office" in Jerusalem. In 2017, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on a resolution to reject the decision by US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The vote was passed with 128 countries in favour, nine against, and 35 abstentions. At the time, Brazil voted against Trump's decision. However, President Bolsonaro, who assumed the presidency of Brazil on 1 January, 2019, said on more than one occasion he would open an embassy in Jerusalem. Brazil's agriculture sector is ardently against any embassy move, as it would threaten the country's halal meat trade with Middle Eastern countries.