Opinions & Interviews

Popkov: Belarus, Israel have great potential to increase investment cooperation

MINSK, 27 February (BelTA) - Belarus and Israel have a great potential for investment cooperation in agriculture, industrial sector and IT, Alexander Popkov, the chairman of the standing commission for regional policy and local self-government of Belarus’ National Assembly, said during a meeting with Sofa Landver, Israeli Minister of Aliyah and Integration, co-chair of the joint Belarusian-Israeli committee for trade and economic cooperation, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Embassy in Israel.

Alexander Popkov is leading a delegation of the working group of the National Assembly of Belarus for the cooperation with the Israeli Parliament on a visit to Israel. 

The Belarusian MPs and Sofa Landver noted the positive trends in the Belarusian-Israeli trade in recent years. For example, in 2017 Belarus’ export to Israel surged by 70% over the previous year.

The delegation met with the active members of the Israeli association of Immigrants from Belarus headed by Mikhail Alshansky. The parties had an engaged exchange of views, including on the joint projects in education, culture and tourism with the involvement of the Belarusian community. Particular attention was paid to the development of cooperation within the framework of the Year of Native Land declared by the Belarusian president.

The Belarusian delegation laid a wreath in the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem. Alexander Popkov made an entry in the book of distinguished guests. He noted that the Belarusian people, who lost millions of lives in the fight against the Nazism, honors the memory of the victims of the war and shares the pain of the Jewish people who survived the terrible tragedy.

The MPs gave Israel's National Library a gift from their Belarusian colleagues - a collection of 21 facsimile books of Belarusian first book printer Francysk Skaryna. Belarus Ambassador Vladimir Skvortsov expressed the confidence that the collection will find its rightful place in the National Library of Israel and will be of interest to local readers because many of the events described in the Bible books published by Francysk Skaryna took place exactly on the Israeli soil.

The members of the delegation held discussions with Director of the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Eurasia I department Yacov Livne. The parties  discussed the pressing issues of bilateral cooperation, the common agenda for the coming period, the current situation in the Middle East and CIS regions.

On 27 February, the Belarusian MPs are set to meet with members of the Israel's Knesset and the Inter-Parliamentary Friendship League Israel-Belarus, to hold talks with the Innovation Authority of Israel and Israeli company BM Holdings. The delegation plans to visit the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon where they will get familiar with the project of the charity organization “Save a child's heart”.

On 28 February the Belarusian MPs are scheduled to visit the city of Ashdod and one of agricultural companies of Israel.

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