Italian Foreign Minister signs economic agreements during his visit to Israel • Works to strengthen cooperation in tackling the Corona crisis • Italian energy giant Sanam is interested in the East-Med project
An Italian delegation led by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Mayo landed at Ben-Gurion Airport yesterday (Thursday) to sign economic cooperation agreements.
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Israeli Ambassador to Italy, Dr. Dror Eder, who had earlier arrived to prepare for the visit, accompanied the convoy of the delegation to Jerusalem, where the Italian Foreign Minister signed a series of economic agreements, along with meetings with Ashkenazi Foreign Minister and senior Israeli Foreign Minister President Reuven Rivlin. Benjamin Netanyahu, the alternate prime minister and defense minister Bnei Gantz and opposition leader Yair Lapid.
The Italian Foreign Minister discussed with his colleagues strategic, security, political and economic issues and worked to strengthen cooperation in dealing with the Corona crisis, promoting the huge gas pipeline project (East Med) initiated by Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz and signing agreements in the fields of culture and science.
Dr. Eder wanted to promote the issue of driver's licenses for Israelis staying in Italy for a long time from being a tourist and are now required to study driving in Italy because the previous agreement on the matter has expired.
One of the agreements signed is a business partnership between Adler, a giant in the field of automotive components with a turnover of 1.5 billion euros, and the Israeli company Sonovia, which produces nano-fabrics.
As part of the agreement, Sonovia is developing an anti-viral, anti-bacterial textile for Adler for the transportation market.
Sonobia's technology will be integrated into Adler's production lines in Europe.
The partnership is an initiative of AdlerInlight CEO Roberta Anati, which identified the technological and commercial synergies between the two companies. Out of this, Sonovia provided the delegation with anti-viral and anti-bacterial masks, which carry the Israeli and Italian flags.
Liat Goldhammer, VP of Technology at Sonovia, said that "the partnership between Sonovia and Adler will provide us with an opportunity to create progress when it comes to creating a safe and healthy environment."
Roberta Anati, CEO of AdlerInlight, said that “This agreement, and the development of anti-viral and anti-bacterial textiles for the automotive world, marks another milestone for us in cultivating valuable intercontinental partnerships towards technological innovation and commercial growth.
"Our vision to bridge the gap between recent innovations and existing demand in the industry is at the core of our projects."
Additional agreements have been signed with HP PRO, a company that specializes in solutions in the field of hydrogen and green energy;
Development agreement with Dan and Delek, under which Dan will operate gas-powered bus lines, an agreement with the Italian company BS for wood cutting, which will purchase technology from a three-dimensional printing company, and agreements in principle with Sanam, the Italian energy giant interested in partnering with the Israel to Italy gas pipeline project.