THE Pacific will soon be home to a state-of-the-art centre built by Israel to apply and promote the country’s innovations and technical ideas in the areas of food security, public health and climate change.
Israel president Reuven Rivlin said the centre would be made possible through a collaboration with the University of the South Pacific.
“This collaboration will enable us to work together to apply Israeli innovations to address pressing challenges such as food security, climate change, ocean rise and public health,” he said.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said Fiji and the Pacific welcomed Israel’s efforts to deepen ties in the region.
“Despite our small size, Fiji and Israel have no qualms about using our voices in big ways to drive global conversations,” he said.
“Increasingly, we’re uniting our voices on issues we know are critical to our future; climate change, sustainable development, smart agriculture, women and youth empowerment, health, education and other issues that demand our co-operation and commitments from the wider world.
“Today, my discussions with president Rivlin centered around empowering these future leaders to strengthen the ties that connect our societies and build a partnership that serves our people for generations.”