California and Israel may soon begin collaborating on alternative energy projects.
On Nov. 15, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Israel’s minister of industry, trade and labor, signed a declaration that the two governments intend to cooperate on initiatives that promote and grow alternative energy and environmental technology in California and Israel. The governor was in Israel to attend the sixth annual Saban Forum, held Nov. 14 to 16 in Jerusalem.
“In terms of the synergies between two economies, California and Israel are known for innovation and technologies, and I don’t think there could be a better match,” said Yelena Giderman, director of business development at the Consulate General of Israel in San Francisco.
The governor’s office and the consulate had worked out the particulars of the agreement for several months prior.
Officially known as a “memorandum of understanding,” the declaration seeks to foster economic cooperation, facilitate joint industrial research and development, and enhance business relationships in the alternative energy and environmental technology sectors.
Still, the declaration is only the first step, said Akiva Tor, consul general to the Pacific Northwest.
“This is a signal from governments that there is huge potential here that needs to be realized, but it is now up to us and up to the private sector to fill the declaration of intent with content and meaning in the form of trade missions,” Tor said.
Already, the governor has invited Ben-Eliezer to lead a business delegation to come to California in the first half of 2010, Giderman said. She expects that within the next year, a number of California and Israeli companies focused on clean technology and alternative energy solutions will begin to collaborate.
Also this week, a number of California environmental experts attended the fifth annual Watec Conference on water technology and renewable energy in Tel Aviv.
The declaration signed by Schwarzenegger and Ben-Eliezer is believed to be the first economic cooperation agreement between a U.S. state and Israel that is focused on environmental technology and alternative energy.