Israel wants to expand cooperation in AI, defense and investment in our country

The deepening of the strategic partnership in areas such as technology, innovation, artificial intelligence, security, agriculture, culture and tourism was the main topic that Isaac Herzog, the President of Israel and President Nicuşor Dan discussed yesterday at the Cotroceni Palace, a topic that was taken up by the distinguished guest in his speech from the Parliament rostrum.

Isaac Herzog said: "My visit is a symbol of the special ties between our peoples, which are rooted in centuries of Jewish history in Romania. The famous Jewish community in Romania has played a central role in shaping the history of this nation. However, there are also episodes of horrific history in this period. Now, in a profound ceremony, we commemorated this event, we remembered the atrocities and we hope that the lessons will be learned and remembered and that all measures, so that the Holocaust will never be forgotten, will be taken. We thank Romania for its commitment to teaching history to future generations. This is more important now than ever. Now, when the scourge of anti-Semitism circulates through the world again, together we must stand up against this poisonous hatred, in all its forms, here in Europe and in the rest of the world. Thousands of Israelis of Romanian origin serve as a living bridge between our peoples. We discussed how to deepen our cooperation in many areas of common interest, including technology, innovation, artificial intelligence, security, agriculture, culture, tourism and much more. Together we are committed to making this partnership even stronger for the benefit of our peoples.”

In turn, President Nicuşor Dan said: "We had a discussion in which we talked about our bilateral relationship. It is a strong relationship at the political level, at the economic level, at the human level, an old relationship, and of course, in this relationship, an important link is the community of Israelis who are originally from Romania, people who contributed to the construction and then to the development of the State of Israel. We have a consistent collaboration in the economic fields, security and defense industry, agriculture, information technology, but, as I discussed with Mr. President, there is a great potential for the development of these economic relations in both directions - Israeli investments in Romania, Romanian investments in Israel - and we will continue to collaborate to develop these economic exchanges. (...) We see an increase in the discourse that incites hatred and we must act firmly and, at the same time, tactfully against these types of manifestations, so as to achieve de-escalation, de-radicalization, a communion between people who have different opinions, religions, beliefs. It is the task of all of us. We also discussed the external level, regional security. Our positions are, obviously, common regarding the war in Ukraine and the Russian aggression, and I thanked the President for the solidarity of the State of Israel for the events we have had, especially drones, following this war. We discussed, obviously, the situation in the Middle East. We reiterated our position on the need for diplomatic efforts to restore peace and stability in the entire region. Our hope is that the understanding between the United States and Iran will pave the way for a regional peace that will last, and Romania will continue to support efforts to stabilize the Middle East for the benefit of all its inhabitants.”

From the perspective of economic relations, the partnership between the two states has experienced extensive development in recent years, especially regarding the defense industry, a sector in which the Elbit group has opened several production capacities in our country and has contracts for equipping the Romanian Army. Moreover, there are other companies in the defense, technology or IT industry in Israel that carry out economic activities in our country.

We note that the speech delivered by the President of Israel before the assembled plenary of the Romanian Parliament was not disrupted by representatives of the sovereignist parties during his speech. However, before this moment, MEP Diana Iovanovici-Şoşoacă, president of the SOS Romania party, posted on her Facebook page and that of her political party, two open letters addressed to the leadership of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate and to President Isaac Herzog. In the letter addressed to the leadership of the Parliament, Diana Şoşoacă requested the urgent cancellation of the solemn session in which the Israeli head of state was to address the Romanian parliamentarians, claiming that offering the Parliament's rostrum to a representative Israel's actions are incompatible with the international accusations regarding the violation of international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip. The MEP stated that our country should not send a message of political legitimization of the actions of the Israeli authorities, which he considers responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians and for the worsening of the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

In the open letter to President Isaac Herzog, Şoşoacă claims that he appreciates the historical relations between the two states, but disputes the declared purpose of the trip to Iaşi and Bucharest, namely the commemoration of the Iaşi Pogrom. In the respective document, Şoşoacă shows that the name "Iaşi Pogrom" is erroneous and requests that the episode of June 1941 be officially renamed "Iaşi Massacre" or "Iaşi Massacres", citing the fact that the responsibility for the crimes belongs to the German army.

Moreover, during the singing of the Israeli anthem in Parliament, SOS Romania deputies and senators and some of the elected representatives of other sovereignist parties left the plenary hall.

We show that President Isaac Herzog paid a two-day official visit to our country, being present for the first time in Iaşi, on June 28, where he participated in the commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the 1941 Pogrom.