An agreement for cooperation in the field of space was signed between the Israeli government and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos

Dr. Zvi Kaplan, head of the Israel Space Agency: "We anticipate that the agreement will translate into joint activity for research institutions and industries in both countries"

The government of Israel signed today (Sunday), 27 Badr 2011, March XNUMX, XNUMX, an agreement with the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, regarding cooperation in space for peaceful purposes. On behalf of the government, Dr. Zvi Kaplan, Director of the Israel Space Agency (SLA), signed, and on behalf of the Russian Space Agency, Mr. Anatoly Ferminov, head of Roscosmos, signed. The signing took place at the Prime Minister's Office, in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Minister of Science and Technology Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz, the Russian Ambassador to Israel, Piotr Stegnai, and experts in the field of space from both countries.

During the ceremony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted the good relations with Russia against the background of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries. The Prime Minister spoke about the positive talks he had with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow last week. The Prime Minister noted that the combination between the developed industry of Russia and the developing, focused and sophisticated industry of Israel, will give great benefits to both countries. This agreement reflects the impressive development of relations between the countries.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz said that "the State of Israel is one of the world powers in the field of space. We have advantages and capabilities in this field over many countries and the fact that Russia, a space pioneer, is interested in acquiring blue-white capabilities from us is a great honor for the State of Israel."

Menachem Greenblum, Director General of the Ministry of Science and Technology: "The road was certainly not short, but the desire to work together was there, and in the last year both sides accelerated the pace, due to the desire to start work. We anticipate that the agreement will translate into joint activity for research institutions and industries in both countries."

Dr. Zvi Kaplan, head of the Israel Space Agency, said that "the trend of international cooperation and the unification of forces for action in space is becoming more and more dominant and there are currently several important multinational projects such as the space station, addressing climate and global warming problems and operating spacecraft for research in astrophysics and the study of the solar system which are done in international or regional ventures, and the hand is tilted. Russia has primacy in space exploration. As we know, the Sputnik satellite was the first to be launched into space as well as the first astronaut launched by the Russians and these days we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of this historic and heroic flight, and it is one of the main keys to space to this day, it has the right of firsts, along with a broad technological base in certain fields, especially in launches , in navigation systems as well as excellent scientists. We thank all the bodies that were active in obtaining the agreement, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice."

Among the areas agreed upon for cooperation are the following areas:

1. The study of outer space including astrophysics and planetary studies
2. Remote sensing of the earth from space
3. Materials science for space applications
4. Biology and medicine in space
5. Navigation satellites and related technology and services
6. dispatch services

From Israel's point of view, this agreement joins the agreement signed at the last space conference with ESA - the European Space Agency and the agreements signed in recent years with the French and Italian space agencies. The scientific community in Israel as well as the industrial community may benefit from the fruits of this agreement in increasing cooperation.