Today, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development spoke with Orit Farkash-Hacohen, Israel's Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology.
This first meeting between the two ministers underscored Canada's strong bilateral relations with Israel, bolstered by close political, economic, and people-to-people ties.
Minister Ng highlighted the successful cooperation between Canada and Israel in science, technology and innovation, developed through more than 20 years of close collaboration at all levels of government.
Minister Ng also recognized ongoing efforts to modernize and strengthen joint cooperation on industrial research and development.
Both ministers expressed their commitment to cooperate further in mutually beneficial areas, including increasing commercial opportunities for Canadian and Israeli businesses and working together to ensure a strong, inclusive, and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic globally.
Since the original Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement entered into force in 1997, bilateral trade between the countries has tripled, rising from $566.8 million in 1997 to $1.8 billion in 2021. In 2020, Israel was the top destination for Canadian direct investment in the Middle East and North Africa region with a value of $515 million, while Israeli investment in Canada was valued at $617 million-demonstrating the strength and importance of the bilateral relationship.
