​(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Wednesday, 6 September 2017), at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, addressed the traditional toast ahead of the upcoming Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) holiday:
 
"We are holding the toast early due to success, since we are going to make an historic visit; it seems that this will be the first time that a sitting Prime Minister of Israel will be traveling to the countries of Central and South America. This is a gigantic bloc that we have not yet visited.
 
Today we are in a different place; the alliance with the United States – with North America as a whole – is stronger than ever, as are ties with Europe, including developing ties with Eastern Europe. The great breakthrough is to all continents. Regarding our return to Africa, we are expanding the scope of technology assistance and it is leading to great interest across the continent. The breakthrough is also finding expression in major efforts in Asia. There had not been any real contact with China or significant contact with India and Japan, to say nothing of the Muslim countries, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. This changed at a stroke in the past two years.
 
There is also a great change with Russia, and this is a major change regarding both joining economic and cultural interests and, of course, to achieve – as much as possible – a coordination of expectations and intentions on a strategic level and you understand how critical this is at present. The link is being fostered and strengthened by us and by Russia itself.
 
These are great changes, a sea change that is happening now, and we will not forget Australia which we visited.
 
We are currently developing ties with Latin America. It is a great market in a large bloc of important countries. There is a breakthrough here. And I will explain why this is happening because the fundamental assumption was that if we made an agreement with the Palestinians, which we have wanted and still want, it will open the world to us. There is no doubt that it will help, but the world has opened even without it, and it does not detract from the importance of considering tracks and the diplomatic process and normalization.
 
And I will point out one bloc of countries toward which Israel has made a breakthrough – the bloc of Arab states. What is actually happening with them has not happened in our history even when we signed the agreements. There is cooperation in various ways, on various levels, but is not yet out in the open. But what is not yet out in the open is much greater than in any other period in Israeli history. This is a major change. The entire world is changing. This is not to say that it is changing in international forums – the UN and UNESCO.
 
What there is here is a great change and it is happening despite the fact that, to our regret, the Palestinians have not changed the conditions for a diplomatic agreement which are unacceptable to a large portion of the public, and it is still happening.
 
It is happening because we are cultivating two kinds of strength, which together are bringing a third. We are cultivating as policy, economic-technological strength which allows us to cultivate Israel's military-intelligence strength and their combination gives diplomatic strength and this is a different concept."