On Thursday, Middle East Minister James Cleverly held a virtual visit to Israel, where he discussed UK-Israel tech collaboration and heard directly from NGOs on their efforts to advance peace.
Mr Cleverly had visited Israel before as a new MP in September 2015, on a CFI delegation.
The Middle East Minister said on Twitter that he made the virtual visit to “learn more about the different strands of Israeli society” and speak to NGOs.
Mr Cleverly said that he “discussed the thriving collaboration between UK and Israeli tech companies” adding that it was “great to hear from recipients of our BIRAX programme and GROWTH scholarship, and see examples of how together the UK and Israel are leading the way on science and innovation”.
The Middle East Minister said that he had a “thought-provoking session” with The Parents Circle “who do extraordinary work bringing bereaved families together”. He underlined that it is “sobering to reflect on the human cost of the conflict but seeing these kind of initiatives gives me hope for the future”.
During the call he also directly congratulated Eli Cohen on his appointment as Israel’s Minister of Intelligence. Mr Cleverly said: “We discussed Israeli security, the UK’s commitment to a two state solution and how we can further strengthen the UK-Israel” relationship”.
Mr Cleverly ended his visit by meeting Israeli company TIPACorp and researcher Liran Shlush, who showcased their ground-breaking achievements made possible by UK-Israel collaboration, and discussed the importance of cooperation in tackling coronavirus. TIPACorp creates fully compostable plastic packaging.
