Switzerland and Israel to boost scientific ties
Switzerland has signed an agreement with Israel to intensify scientific research and innovation between the two countries.
The memorandum of understanding was signed between the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Israel Science Foundation during a visit to Bern by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Israel is Switzerland’s third-largest trading partner in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. In the last 12 years, the SNSF has supported 413 projects by Swiss researchers that involved direct cooperation with Israel.
Herzog met with Swiss President Ignazio Cassis in Bern on Monday during a Swiss-hosted event, organised by the World Zionist Organisation (WZO) and the Swiss Federation of Israeli Communities (SIG), to mark the 125th anniversary of the first Zionist conference, held in Basel in 1897.
Cassis and Herzog also discussed the continuing conflict in the Middle East, with Cassis calling for an end to the violence in the region. “I am convinced that what we need is a political horizon and a real political process based on a two-state solution and international law,” he saidExternal link.
Cassis repeated an offer for Switzerland to help facilitate a renewal of talks between Israel and Palestinians through its tradition of providing good offices intermediation.
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