Growing cooperation with Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is likely to be the chief beneficiary of the free trade zone that Israel entered into in Nov 2015 with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Israel imports over $1.4 billion worth of goods from Kazakhstan each year. Security cooperation is also at its highest level.
Global diplomacy improvements
A summary of Israel’s improving relations with Africa, Latin America, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cyprus, Greece, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Russia and Turkey. And excellent defense, security and intelligence cooperation with the USA.
Israel opens border for Syrian humanitarian aid
For the first time since the Syrian civil war began, Israel has formally opened its border for delivering humanitarian aid into Syria. Moti Kahana, founder of Israeli NGO Amaliah, said that medicines, food and schoolbooks are transferred into a “Safe Zone” around Quneitra.
The world’s first blood bank for birds
Israel's Wildlife Hospital has opened a blood bank for birds that arrive injured to the country during migration. Hospital veterinarians realized that they could better treat the birds if they had a blood bank for them because, much like humans, birds have different blood types.
The first woman in charge of a power plant
Rinat Avrahami Karniel is the first woman in Israel to become a power plant director. She has been appointed head of Ashkelon’s Rutenberg Power Station – one of the two largest in Israel. Rinat has two master’s degrees and has worked for Israel Electric for 20 years.
Israel’s first deaf EMT
Nechama Loebel, deaf since birth, has become the first deaf person to successfully become an Emergency Medical Technician in Israel. She works for United Hatzalah and will be provided with alternate solutions to the audible stimuli that are necessary to properly treat injured and sick people at the scenes of medical emergencies.
Aid for West Virginia flood victims
Israeli international relief organization IsraAid has been helping West Virginia homeowners with the tremendous amount of damage caused by flash floods in June that killed 23 people and destroyed hundreds of houses.
Renewed ties with Guinea
Israel has renewed diplomatic relations with the Republic of Guinea that were severed in 1967 after Israel’s Six-day War with the Arabs. The West African state has 10.5 million citizens, over 85% of whom are Muslim.
First visit by President of Paraguay
Paraguay’s President Horacio Cartes met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Monday in Jerusalem during a three-day visit. Paraguay is one of Israel’s best allies in international forums.
First contact with Somalia
It has been reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently met with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of the African state of Somalia in the first high-level contact between the two countries.