“This is a time of great opportunities. Israel and Greece can do many things together in all sectors,” Israeli top officials in industry, exports, investments, energy and trade, who visited Athens, said to “Naftemporiki.”
The Israeli delegation was attended by the president of the Manufacturers’ Association, Dr. Ron Tomer, the head of the Economic Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yael Ravia Zadok, Nili Saev, CEO of the Institute for Exports and International Cooperation, and Israela Einstein, vice president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce.
“Naftemporiki” met with the members of the Israeli delegation and had the opportunity to listen to many interesting proposals for strengthening cooperation between the two countries in all sectors.
Greece’s Gateway to the Middle East
“We are Greece’s gateway to the Middle East. You are our gateway to Europe,” the head of the Economic Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yael Ravia Zadok, pointed out. “What is good for Greece and Europe is also good for Israel. We are gradually aligning ourselves with EU regulations for different consumer products, which means that our trade relations are growing more and more every year,” she added.
On his part, Dr. Ron Tomer, president of the Association of Manufacturers and head of the largest pharmaceutical company in Israel emphasized: “We came to Athens as industrialists, importers, exporters, to try to develop our trade relations, which currently exceed one billion dollars and can very soon double and triple. There are many possibilities on both sides. Regarding government services, we discussed the digitalization of healthcare. In many areas we have very strong companies. Joint investments can be made in the food industry, pharmaceuticals, advanced technology, innovation and defense.”
“Needless to say, our defense industry, which was tested in a very long war, is unfortunately, due to the war, somewhat ‘lucky’. Although I would not like to characterize a war as an opportunity, it actually showed the capability of the Israeli defense industry.”
Israela Einstein, vice president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, which represents 5,000 members, stressed the need to increase imports from Greece. “We want more and more imports from Greece. Agricultural products, food, cheese, yogurt. They can reach Israel from Greece in two to four days. Greek shipping ‘bridges’ distances very quickly. Shipping can bring more Greece to Israel.”
Energy cooperation
Nili Salev, CEO of the Institute for Export and International Cooperation, emphasized that a very strong area of cooperation is energy. “The cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Israel is very, very important in terms of the transportation of natural gas and electricity to Europe. We also discussed with our Greek colleagues cooperation in renewable energy sources, in the management of energy networks, etc. We are paying great attention to the liquefaction of natural gas (LNG) facilities to export it through Greece to Europe. We already export large quantities to Egypt and Jordan. However, Greece is a gateway to other European countries. Your country can be the main LNG transportation hub in Europe. Our goal is of course also to create submarine pipelines to transport natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean. It will take time to build some kind of undersea gas pipeline, but at least liquefied natural gas can be transported directly in large quantities.”
Eastmed Pipeline
“So do you see how the ‘dream’ of building the Eastmed pipeline is possible to be revived? That was the question posed to Israeli officials.
“The Eastmed pipeline remains a dream for now,” the President of the Israeli Manufacturers noted. He emphasized that for now, just transporting liquefied gas may be enough. “But if more undersea gas deposits are found, the need to build a real pipeline will be strengthened and this dream, and the discussion about Eastmed, may come to light.”
Yael Ravia Zadok from the Israeli Foreign Ministry noted that “energy was one of the motivations for the trilateral cooperation between Israel, Cyprus and Greece, but it has now evolved into an important pillar. And in terms of connectivity, obviously the vision is to have a pipeline that would allow the benefits and potential of natural gas exploration to be maximized, not only in Israel, but also in Cyprus. A year and a half ago, we started the fourth phase of exploration in the Israeli maritime Economic Zone and we expected to find more natural gas in our waters. So the more gas we have, the greater the possibility of creating a pipeline that will connect our region with Greece and Europe… The possibility of implementing this project is also linked to the possibility of exporting hydrogen from the region to Europe. Therefore, regarding the Eastmed pipeline, not only natural gas but also hydrogen increases the economic feasibility and possibility of implementing this project.”
The India-EU Corridor via Israel and Greece
Yael Ravia Zadok also referred to another huge project: the creation of the IMEC economic corridor, which will connect India via the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, with Greece and Europe. “The ports of the UAE will be connected via this land corridor with the Mediterranean and Greece. Your country will therefore become a gateway from the Indian and Gulf markets to Europe.”
Is it possible that Turkey will react to these energy plans? We see a very provocative stance from Turkey towards Israel. And of course, towards the Republic of Cyprus and Greece. Ankara is talking about delimiting the Turkish-Syrian EEZ with the interim government of the jihadists in Damascus.
Asked what is Israel’s view of Turkey’s provocative stance in the region, Yael Ravia Zadok, replied: “In every crisis, there is a phrase in Jewish tradition: The harder you hit us, the stronger we become”…
The president of the Manufacturers of Israel pointed out that “until recently we had a lot of imports and part of our exports, to and from Turkey. We decided to stop that. We thought of other sources “because instead of buying from Erdogan in Turkey, we buy some goods from Egypt and other friendly countries, such as Greece. Because this is very important for good neighborliness, of course, and the mutual strengthening of our economies.”
“Let’s share the dream”
Dr. Tomer closed the discussion with a wish and an invitation: “We came to Athens for cooperation. The dream of the new Middle East is not a fantastic dream. It is a documented, realistic dream that can be true. If our dream comes true, then it will be good for everyone and certainly for our good friends. Like the Greek businessmen, who are always welcome in Israel. We look forward to seeing them after the end of the war, to invest in our country.”
