Israel–Vietnam relations

Israel–Vietnam relations

Israel
Vietnam

Israel–Vietnam relations are foreign relations between Israel and Vietnam.

Vietnam and Israel established diplomatic relations on July 12, 1993. Israel opened its resident embassy in Hanoi in December 1993. The first Vietnamese Ambassador to Israel is Đinh Xuân Lưu. He operates out of the Vietnamese embassy in Tel Aviv. Ties between the two nations are generally friendly and stable. Vietnam has even expressed its will to boost defense ties with Israel.[1] There is also a large number of Vietnamese working in Israel, and Israel has also delivered humanitarian aid to Vietnam in several occasions. According to reports, some 2,000 Vietnamese students study in Israel. Israel and Vietnam also cooperate in such fields as agriculture, information technology and biotech, and cultural exchanges between the two countries are quite extensive.[2][3]

Diplomatic relations

In 1946, future Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and North Vietnam's Politburo chairman Ho Chi Minh stayed at the same hotel in Paris, and became very friendly.[4][5] Ho Chi Minh offered Ben Gurion a Jewish home-in-exile in Vietnam.[4][5] Ben-Gurion turned the offer down, telling Ho Chi Minh: "I am certain we shall be able to establish a Jewish Government in Palestine."[4][5]

Vietnam and Israel established diplomatic relations on July 12, 1993. Israel opened its resident Embassy in Hanoi in December 1993, with David Matnai appointed as the first Ambassador to Vietnam.[6][7]

The first Vietnamese ambassador to Israel was Đinh Xuân Lưu, who presented his credentials to Israeli President Shimon Peres on July 8, 2009.[8][9] The ambassador operates out of an embassy at 4 Weizman Street in Tel Aviv, Israel, a first since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1993.[9][10] The previous ambassador was a non-resident ambassador, operating from Cairo. At their meeting, President Shimon Peres told the new ambassador: "I congratulate the Vietnamese government on their decision to establish an embassy in Israel. The establishment of an embassy opens a new era in the relationship of the two countries."[11]

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have frequently conducted reciprocal visits at various levels, and have strengthened ties in such fields as business, education, culture, technological cooperation and agriculture. The visits arranged by the Israeli government included those of delegations comprising entrepreneurs and businessmen, academic groups, journalists, artists and musicians, legal workers, and so on.[12]

In January 2010, Luu said that it was key for Israel to increase its cooperation with Vietnam via its strong wherewithal in high-potential high-tech areas such as information technology, aerospace, and biological technologies applied to agriculture to boost farming productivity, which were important areas in Vietnam's modernization.[13][14]

In September 2011, he and Vietnamese Ministry of Defence Deputy Minister Lieutenant General Truong Quang Khanh led a working delegation from the defense ministry in a visit to Israel.[15] In July 2012, he spoke of strong ties between Vietnam and Israel, and the possibilities for initiating future partnerships.[8]

In November 2011, at the invitation of Vietnam's President Truong Tan Sang, Israeli President Shimon Peres had an official visit to Vietnam from the 21st to the 27th, accompanied by Ministers and business delegation. This first high-ranking visit aimed at strengthening and expanding political and economic strategic ties between Israel and Vietnam.[16][17][18]

In September 2012, Luu said that friendship and cooperation between Israel and Vietnam had its roots in a meeting in 1946 between Democratic Republic of Vietnam Prime Minister and President Ho Chi Minh and David Ben-Gurion.[19] He also said that trade between the two countries had risen to $660 million in the first eight months of 2012.[19] He spoke of cooperation between the two countries in agriculture, water technologies, IT, telecommunication, education, and homeland security.[19]

Future president of Vietnam, Trần Đại Quang, visited Israel in 2014 and met with president Reuven Rivlin.[20]

Israeli minister Tzipi Hotovely visited Vietnam in August 2015.[21]Vietnamese deputy PM visited Israel on December of that year and met with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.[22]

In 2016, Vietnamese deputy prime minister Vương Đình Huệ said Vietnam should learn from Israel how to develope a start-up ecosystem.[23]

On October 2016, Vietnamese president Trần Đại Quang met with Israeli ambassador to Vietnam, Meirav Eilon Shahar, and praised the warm ties between the two countries. He further stated Israel and Vietnam need to boost their economic and business ties and to even open a direct route between them in order to facilitate their cooperation and tourism.[24]

Public security minister of Vietnam, General To Lam visited Israel on November 2016 and met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[25]

Economic relations

Israeli businessmen have shown considerable interest in Vietnam and organized many business trips to the country to explore investment opportunities in agriculture, aquaculture, tourism, oil and gas exploitation and production, telecommunications, and pharmacy. In August 2004, Israel and Vietnam signed an Agreement of Economic and Trade Cooperation, an important legal basis for the further development of trade. The two-way trade turnover has reached 70 million US dollars in 2005. Two Israeli corporations, Agronet and Astraco, have opened offices in Hanoi.[7][12]

Technology and know-how developed at Kibbutz Afikim will be used in a half-a-billion-dollar milk production project in Vietnam. The project involves establishing a dairy of 30,000 cows to supply 500,000 liters of milk a day, about 40% of Vietnam's present milk consumption. Afikim will be responsible for all stages of the enterprise, including breeding and preparing land for crops that will be used as feed.[26]

The governments of Vietnam and Israel signed an agreement on double tax avoidance in Hanoi on August 4, 2009, creating a transparent and healthy legal environment for their businesses to increase transactions. Signatories to the document were Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha and Israeli Ambassador to Vietnam Effie Ben Matityau. They both stressed the importance of the agreement in promoting economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.[27] Israel and Vietnam are also working on completing a free-trade agreement, that would further enhance the business relationship between the two countries.[28]

The Israeli government has helped train and educate Vietnamese in the science of agriculture, aquaculture, livestock, and dairy milk production. Vietnam, which is now considered one of the leading economies in the developing world, relies part of its success on Israeli technology and agricultural development.[28]

Military cooperation

Many of Israeli military experts have been amazed about the development of Vietnamese military and its equipments that led to the Israeli Government and the Israel Defence Forces to cooperate with Vietnam People's Army. First Israeli military mission to Vietnam had started in 2012-13. The Vietnamese Government also supports and provides information and wishes for a further cooperation, and even a military exercise between two countries.

Assistance to Vietnam

Israel has also dispatched many specialists to Vietnam to give in-service training to their Vietnamese colleagues, especially in agriculture. Government officials and professionals from various ministries in Vietnam have visited Israel to study tours as well as for trainings. Various on-the-spot courses have been conducted in various fields, such as agriculture, aquaculture, livestock, dairy milk production and education, under the auspices of MASHAV, the Israeli Center for International Cooperation.[7][12]

Vietnamese refugees arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel, 1977

Technology

A forum to further scientific and technological cooperation between Vietnam and Israel took place in Hanoi on January 18, 2010, drawing the participation of close to 160 businesses from both countries. Speaking at this first forum of its kind in Vietnam, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Pham Gia Tuc, stated that the Vietnamese government sees Israel as an important partner in its policy to boost multi-faceted cooperation with countries in the Middle East.[29]

In 2016, a group of Vietnamese students and teachers traveled to Israel to learn about robotics and start-up.[30]

Cultural ties

In 2014, Vietnam hosted an Israeli film festival, in celebration of 20 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.[31]

Numerous Israeli books have been translated to Vietnamese.[32]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Israel and Vietnam seeking major boost in defense ties".
  2. ↑ "Vietnam : Israel's closest ASEAN partner".
  3. ↑ "Israeli diplomats, doctors deliver aid to thousands of Vietnamese villagers".
  4. 1 2 3 "Ben-gurion Reveals Suggestion of North Vietnam's Communist Leader". Archive.jta.org. November 8, 1966. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 "ISRAEL WAS EVERYTHING". New York Times. June 21, 1987. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Panim- Faces of Art and culture in Israel". Mfa.gov.il. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "VIETNAM-ISRAEL RELATIONS – Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Mofa.gov.vn. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Promoting Vietnam's tourism in Israel". TalkVietnam. July 26, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Vietnamese embassy to open in Israel 8-July-2009". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. July 8, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Vietnam Embassy in Israel – EMBASSY OF THE S. R. OF VIETNAM IN ISRAEL". Embassy of Vietnam in Israel. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  11. ↑ ""Vietnamese embassy to open in Israel for the first time" – Israeli Foreign Ministry". Mfa.gov.il. July 8, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  12. 1 2 3 "Bilateral Relations: Relations Overview – Israeli Embassy in Hanoi". Hanoi.mfa.gov.il. March 26, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  13. ↑ Ian Chen (January 30, 2010). "Israel, VN to boost IT, bio co-operation | Vietnam". Apecdoc.org. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  14. ↑ Nguyet (January 21, 2010). "Israeli business seeks hi-tech ties with Vietnam". Saigon Times. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Vietnamese defence delegation visits Israel". People’s Army Newspaper. September 16, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  16. ↑ Fay, Greer (November 15, 2011). "Peres plans for Vietnam trip". JPost. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  17. ↑ Fay, Greer (November 25, 2011). "'Jerusalem of Gold' follows Peres...". Jpost.com. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  18. ↑ "President Shimon Peres on official visit to Vietnam". Embassies.gov.il. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  19. 1 2 3 Silvia Golan and Bilha Calderon (September 3, 2012). "67th Anniversary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam". Diplomacy.co.il. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Tran Dai Quang visits Israel (Vietnamese)".
  21. ↑ "Tzipi Hotovely vsists Vietnam".
  22. ↑ "Vietnamese deputy PM vsists Israel".
  23. ↑ "VN must develop start-up ecosystem".
  24. ↑ "VN wants to learn from Israel's climate change prevention experience".
  25. ↑ "Public security minister general To Lam visits Israel".
  26. ↑ "Afikim tapped to set up giant dairy in Vietnam". Haaretz. March 22, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  27. ↑ Vietnam, Israel sign double tax avoidance deal
  28. 1 2 vietnam ties with israel
  29. ↑ "Vietnam, Israel strengthen cooperation in technology". Individual.com. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Vietnamese students learn about robotics and start-up in Israel".
  31. ↑ "Vietnam to host Israeli film festival".
  32. ↑ "Israel celebrates 67 Independence day". Embassy of the state of Israel in Vietnam.
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