Minister of Finance, Dr. Yuval
Steinetz, and Minister of Education and Head of the Council for Higher
Education, Mr. Gideon Saar, today launched programs designed to boost research
cooperation with India and China. The programs aim to attract researchers and
students from those two countries to Israel’s research institutions. The
programs form part of a broad-gauge initiative being formulated by the Israeli
government with a view to strengthening economic ties with India and China. The
programs will provide fertile soil for future cooperative ventures in research
and economics.
The event was attended by
officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Budget Department, the
International Affairs Department, the Academic Administration Council for
Higher Education (CHE) & Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC). China was
represented at the event by the Chinese Ambassadress to Israel, Ms. GAO
Yanping.
The first program to be
launched - for attracting post-doctorate students – is meant to bring about a
strengthening of the research ties with China by attracting outstanding
researchers to Israel while exposing them to research capabilities in Israel
and creating bonds with leading Israeli researchers. This program will be put
into effect both in the universities and in the Volcani Institute of Agricultural
Research.
The second program – for
attracting students – is designed to draw hundreds of outstanding students to
study in universities in Israel in combined programs with Israeli students and
also to integrate them into extra-academic programs enabling them to
familiarize themselves with the country. These students will remain in Israel
for a relatively long period of time, a fact which is expected to increase
their exposure to what is happening in the country, making them “ambassadors”
for Israel on their return home.
As part of these programs,
scholarships will be awarded to hundreds of students and researchers who will
come from China to the research universities and to the Volcani Institute. All
this activity will be financed by an overall budgetary allocation of up to some
NIS 44 million per annum.
Over and above these programs
efforts are presently being made to promote joint research between Israel and
China. Further to which, teams are working to work out a final outline for
cooperation between the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) and the Chinese
Research Foundation (NSFC).
China is one of the most
outstanding economies in the international landscape and is enjoying impressive
growth rates and almost unprecedented economic development, while their importance
and centrality from all economic aspects and points of view is increasing
steadily and is expected to continue outstanding in the future. In light of
these facts, the government of Israel ascribes strategic importance to the
strengthening of the economic, commercial and academic ties with the country.
Minister of Finance, Dr. Yuval
Steinitz, said at the event: “Today, jointly with the Ministry of Education and
the Council for Higher Education we are launching a strategic long term program
that will create long term educational, cultural and strategic bonds between
Israel and the nations of India and China. We are launching a program to build
up in-depth ties in research, academia, in the technological industries and in
agricultural research, between Israel and two growing economic powers.
Minister of Education and Chair
of the Council for Higher Education, Mr. Gideon Saar, said: “China and India
occupy an important place in the new world and the promotion of ties with these
countries is of strategic importance to the State of Israel”. The Education
Minister noted that he had instituted the study of Chinese language and culture
in the educational system as well as the meaningful steps that were presented
today for academic research cooperation with China and India. Minister Saar
said: “These steps form part of a forward looking move and operate for the
upgrading of the various types of connections – economic, cultural,
academic-research – between the peoples and the countries”.
Chinese Ambassador to Israel,
Ms. GAO Yanping: “The new research and development project in the educational
domain that has been launched by the Ministries of Finance and Education is
important to both countries. Cooperation in the educational domain contributes
to the economic and commercial ties between the countries and reinforces
bilateral relations. In the 20 years since the forging of diplomatic relations
between China and Israel, a great deal of cooperation has taken place in
various domains, some of which has already borne fruit. The Chinese government
is launching numerous projects for foreign students, including Israeli
students, and is offering scholarships in a diverse range of fields and in the
various university degree studies in China. Details of these programs may be
found on the website of the Chinese Embassy. We look forward to a fruitful
future of cooperation between our countries in the domains are education,
science and technology”.