Ukraine and Israel have close historical ties, which help establish economic cooperation in various fields. In addition to food supplies and IT projects, the countries can be partners in the production of vaccines against COVID-19 and in many other industries. This was stated by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the State of Israel Hennadii Nadolenko during a discussion at the Kyiv Jewish Forum 2020.
“Ukraine has a lot to learn from Israel, which has to develop amid constant threats to its existence,” the ambassador said.
According to Nadolenko, economic relations between Ukraine and Israel are showing positive dynamics: the volume of trade between our two countries increased by 8%, reaching $1.116bn over the past year.
In the field of high-tech, where Israel is a recognized leader, 15 thousand Ukrainian IT specialists are involved. Ukrainian food export also plays an important role.
“For example, in Israel there was a very great shortage of fresh eggs during the pandemic outbreak, and in a matter of days Ukraine was able to supply about 7 million eggs to the Israeli market. This is a positive moment of interaction between our countries,” Nadolenko said.
Ratification of the Open Trade Agreement, which is due to take place in the near future, will strengthen the economic cooperation. As the ambassador noted, this will positively affect not only trade in goods, but also further relations in the field of technologies and innovations, in the field of healthcare and cybersecurity.
“In the times of the pandemic, our cooperation has become especially important. President Zelensky and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed this issue in a telephone conversation last week,” Nadolenko said.
He made it more specific by saying that Volodymyr Zelensky had proposed using the capacities of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical plants for the production of a vaccine against COVID-19.
“We can be useful to each other. Israeli businessmen can invest very effectively in Ukraine, and Ukrainian businessmen can search for the places to invest their assets in Israel. There are many different areas for investments, many opportunities,” Nadolenko said.
Kyiv Jewish Forum 2020 was organized by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine and Jerusalem Post and was held online on September 8-9. The first forum took place last year in Kyiv, bringing together about 500 participants from many countries.
As President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine Boris Lozhkin stated at the opening of the forum, the Kyiv Jewish Forum has become a global platform for discussing the problems and opportunities the world Jewry faces, in the interests of international cooperation, and for making the world a better place.