Dragons in Israel: energy, Ukraine and anti-Semitism on the table

will begin tomorrow

.

The mission to Jerusalem precedes other important international commitments in the coming weeks, including the G7 and NATO Summits and the visit to Ankara.

At the center of the meetings with the highest Israeli institutions will be the strengthening of bilateral relations, the situation in Ukraine and

with the need to avert the current crisis, energy issues, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and anti-Semitism .

This is reported in a note in the background of Palazzo Chigi.

In terms of economic cooperation, Italy and Israel have a solid commercial partnership - it is explained -, in particular in the sector of innovation and ICT.

In 2021 there was a positive and sustained recovery in trade, well beyond the pre-Covid levels, which amounted to 4 billion euros (+ 25.6% compared to 2020), with Italian exports equal to 3.1 billion (+ 25.9%) and imports of 910 million (+ 24.6%).

In addition to the traditional sectors of presence of Italian companies in the country (innovation and start-ups, energy, infrastructures and telecommunications), further opportunities for strengthening economic-commercial relations are offered by the transport, sustainable mobility, biomedicine, aerospace and cyber security.

In the field of

, there is a strong interest on both sides to collaborate in the fields of digital health, molecular health, precision medicine, Med Tech and pharmaceuticals.

Regarding

, for the Italian government - as President Draghi has emphasized several times in recent months - the issue of energy security is a priority.

In particular, the diversification of supply sources, with attention to natural gas - of which Israel has huge resources.

In a recent meeting with the press, President Draghi recalled the feasibility studies funded by the European Union for the Eastmed gas pipeline project, which are nearing completion.

In the next few days, the same President of the EU Commission von der Leyen will be in Israel.

It is also recalled that Italy and Israel are founding members of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, in which they continue to collaborate for the common use of gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as for the development of renewable energies, such as

"Italy also shares with Israel the desire to accelerate

, to leverage technological innovation and to continuously relaunch cooperation on" research and development "and its industrial repercussions. , in November 2021, thematic consultations at ministerial level on priority topics including: renewable energy; hydrogen; smart digital grids; electric vehicles.

Fight against anti-Semitism.

It constitutes a traditional topic of dialogue with the Israeli authorities.

Italy is committed nationally and internationally: to the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust;

with participation in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and the adoption of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism;

with the appointment of a National Coordinator and the presentation of the National Strategy for the fight against anti-Semitism.

Italy supported the Israeli initiative for a UN General Assembly Resolution on Holocaust denial.

Italy was among the first to co-sponsor the text (approved last January 20) ", concludes the background note of the premier's trip.