Viet Nam and Israel established diplomatic relations on 12 July 1993. Israel opened its resident Embassy in Hanoi in December 1993 with D. Matnai appointed as the first Ambassador to Viet Nam. Vigorous efforts have been devoted by both sides to enhancing mutual understanding and deepening the bilateral cooperative relations, especially in agriculture, water resources and health services. In 2000, Israeli Prime Minister invited his Vietnamese counterpart to visit Israel and the latter accepted the invitation in principle.
Israel has usually taken the initiative in promoting its relations with Viet Nam by sponsoring many short-term training programs for Vietnamese agriculturalists, meteorologists, health experts, trade union members, and scientists, with more than 220 scholarships granted to date. Israel has also dispatched many specialists to Viet Nam to give in-service training to their Vietnamese colleagues, especially in agriculture. With regard to humanitarian and philanthropic assistance, Israel donated 5,000 US dollars and 200 kg of medicines to Vietnamese victims to help them overcome the aftermath of the disastrous floods in 1995 and 1997. Israel also extended healthcare aids to Viet Nam in terms of facilities and free-of-charge eye operations for the disadvantaged in the mountainous Northern Viet Nam from 2004 to 2005. In terms of economic cooperation, Israeli businessmen have shown considerable interest in Viet Nam 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. The two-way trade turnover has witnessed a steady increase over the past few years, reaching 70 million US dollars in 2005. Two Israeli corporations, namely Agronet and Astraco, have established their representative offices in Hanoi.
Concluded Agreements:
- Framework Agreement on Economic, Scientific and Agricultural Cooperation (24 January 1996).
- Agreement on Tourism Cooperation (24 January 1996).
- Agreement on Economic and Commercial Cooperation (25 August 2004).
- Agreement on Cooperation in Culture and Information (27 December 2005).
- Agreement on Aviation Transport Cooperation.
VN-Israel_avoid_double_taxation
Source: wtocenter.vn
Keywords: Vietnam - Israel, agreement, economic, scientific, agricultural
