The agricultures of Romania and Israel are complementary, and cooperation in this field is a priority, the Israeli ambassador in Bucharest Dan Ben-Eliezer said on Monday at the Romanian-Israeli Agricultural Technologies Forum.
Romania has abundant natural resources such as land and water, and also experience in agriculture. Israel, despite its lack of resources, has succeeded in providing yield in this sector by developing know-how and innovative technologies that placed its agriculture among the most advanced in the world. Bilateral cooperation in agriculture is one of the priorities of the Embassy of Israel in Romania. We are trying to accelerate the Israeli contribution and bring know-how to Romania, working closely with partners such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the Romanian Group for Investment and Consultancy (RGIC) and with other agricultural institutions, ambassador Ben-Eliezer declared, Agerpres informs.
According to RGIC CEO Otilia Manta, more than 60 officials and representatives of Romanian business are going to participate in one of the most important agricultural events in Israel, the AgriTECH 2015 fair.
‘In the past years, about 50-60 farmers and officials have attended; we expect to have at least 60 visitors from Romania this year, too, namely 30-40 farmers and 20 officials and representatives of the authorities,’ Manta asserted.
According to the National Trade Registry Office of Romania (ONRC), 6,746 Israeli companies were registered in Romania at end-January, with a total capital of over EUR 56.4 million.
Foreign Affairs Ministry data show bilateral trade amounted to USD 491.8 million at end-2013, with USD 374.1 million in Romanian exports and 117.7 million dollars in imports from Israel.
As of March 31, 2014 Israel ranked 33rd in terms of direct foreign investments by source country, with a total of USD 83.92 million.