By Itzhak Rabihiya
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today (Wednesday, 26 June 2019), at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, with Chilean President Sebastian Piñera. Also attending the meeting were Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, Science Ministry Director General Ran Bar and additional senior officials. Attending for the Chilean side were Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation Minister Andres Couve, Foreign Ministry director general Patricio Torres and additional senior officials.
Later that evening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara hosted dinner for Chilean President Sebastian Piñera and his wife Cecilia Morel.
Netanyahu told his guest that Israel and Chile have a lot in common. We share values of democracy and human rights. We share a belief in market economies and both of us have done a few things to promote these values in our respective countries. We believe in entrepreneurship. We believe in creativity. We have relatively small, not so small, but relatively small, very vibrant economies. It's recognized by the countries in Latin America, Chile's capacity in this regard just as the countries of the Middle East and the world recognize Israel's capacities as an innovation nation.
We just spent a few minutes now as we did in Brasilia, we discussed how we can increase the cooperation and exchanges between Chile and Israel, both on the governmental level and no less important on the company to company level, on the private sector level. When we last saw each other at the inauguration of President Bolsonaro in Brazil, we made a commitment to upgrade that cooperation and we are fulfilling that today.
Israel and Chilean have signed five agreements and going to sign now another three with respective ministers. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chilean President Piñera attended the signing ceremony for various bilateral agreements:
1. An MOU on a scientific cooperation program between the Science Ministry and the Chilean National Authority for Scientific and Technological Research;
2. An aviation services agreement between the governments;
3. A declaration of intent on health and medical cooperation between the two countries' health ministries.
Also President Reuven Rivlin welcomed President of Chile Sebastián Piñera to Beit HaNasi today. President Piñera, who is visiting Israel, was received in an official ceremony during which the two national anthems were played. The presidents reviewed an IDF honor guard and then made joint statements to the press.
President Rivlin welcomed President Piñera on his second visit to Israel, noting the historic connection between the State of Israel and its capital, Jerusalem. “Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people since the days of King David. As you know, the sovereign State of Israel allows, develops and cares for freedom of worship and religion for all those who enter the gates of Jerusalem. Our historical connection to Jerusalem, and our sovereignty in Jerusalem, make us responsible for preserving Jerusalem as a city of faith and peace." The President also noted the deep friendship between Chile and Israel, even before the establishment of the State of Israel, in saving hundreds of Jews from the horrors of the Holocaust.
Referring to his counterpart's visit to the Palestinian Authority, the president stressed the need to promote cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians and not to boycott various initiatives: "On our tour of our region, you will also visit the Palestinian Authority. I recently spoke with Abu Mazen, who called me to offer me condolences and we are in constant contact, even if we do not always agree. Peace is the aspiration of the people of Israel. The gaps between us and the Palestinians are great, but we must begin with small steps of cooperation, and not to boycott or refuse plans that will improve our economic and social situation. We must cooperate in every field where we can work together. That is the only way.” Concluding his remarks, the President thanked his colleague and wished for continued fruitful cooperation for the benefit of both peoples.
The President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, thanked the President for his warm welcome and expressed his condolences on the passing of Nechama. The president said he was happy to be visiting Israel again, this time to further strengthen relations between the two countries. ”In the coming days, we will sign agreements in order to strengthen our friendship and cooperation in areas that are important to us, such as satellite technology, water desalination and irrigation, which will help deal with our northern desert, solar energy and cyber defense. We hope that the visit will be fruitful, expand relations and strengthen cooperation between the two countries,” he said.
Attached photo credit: Kobi Gideon (GPO)
