(Communicated by the Ministry for Regional Development Media Advisor)
 
Deputy Minister of Regional Cooperation Ayoob Kara departed, last night (Wednesday, 28 October 2015), to Washington D.C. and New York for a series of meetings to promote joint projects between Israel and the countries of the region and to discuss Syria and the refugee crisis.
 
During his visit, Deputy Minister Kara is expected to meet with congressmen and senators and representatives of the State Department, and hold discussions with humanitarian organizations and think tanks, including USAID, Center for American Progress, International Rescue Committee and the Council on Foreign Relations.
 
The Deputy Minister will attend is a special fundraising evening for 'Save a Child's Heart'. The organization works for the provision of life-saving heart treatment to children all over the world, including the Arab states and countries that have no diplomatic relations with Israel. The children treated at Wolfson Hospital in Holon, where a center for children's cardiology is currently being built in cooperation with the organization. The Ministry for Regional Development has supported 'Save a Child's Heart' in recent years, in the belief that saving lives is a goal that has no borders and can serve as a bridge between Israel and the countries of the region.
 
Deputy Minister Kara said before his departure: "As the humanitarian crisis is taking place in Syria, the impact of which is reverberating all over the world, I intend to discuss it and how to cope both with officials and with aid agencies. At the same time, I will present the important humanitarian contribution of Israel to the world, as is reflected in part by the important activities of 'Save a Child's Heart', to save the lives of children even from enemy countries. This is the best way to show Israel's moral path."