MASHAV day at the Israeli MFA

Today, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon opened a symposium being conducted by MASHAV, the Foreign Ministry's Center for International Cooperation and Israel's national agency for international development cooperation, for the staff of its training centers.

Deputy FM Ayalon discussed the Iranian threat, noting that during his recent trip to the conference of the Organization of American States he discussed with representatives from Latin America the Iranian penetration into that region. He added, "MASHAV is an important tool of the Israel Foreign Ministry to cope with the growing Iranian presence in Latin America."
Against the backdrop of talks on Israel's accession to the OECD, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Deputy FM Ayalon stresses that "Israel is committed to meeting the challenges of development. MASHAV is a very important element in Israel's foreign policy - morally, politically and economically."
The participants will hear updates on the process of Israel's accession to the OECD and on Israel's integration in meeting the millenium goals, adapting its activities to the development challenges of the 21st century, and adjusting its targets to the changing needs of the developing world.

MASHAV conducts an extensive training program both in Israel and abroad in a wide variety of fields, such as agriculture, health, the empowerment of women, socio-economic development and more. The work is carried out at professional training centers, in cooperation with relevant government ministries. To date, over the course of over 50 years, MASHAV has provided hands-on instruction to over a quarter of a million trainees in Israel and abroad.

Deputy FM Ayalon, who began his career at the Foreign Ministry in MASHAV, noted that he looks forward to meeting once again the MASHAV experts who translate Israel's desire to share experience and expertise with other countries into action. "The knowledge that we share with the nations of the world helps improve life in many countries while strengthening our ties with them.