Israel is embarking on a new phase in its relationship with the Philippines, what with a series of capacity-building initiatives the country is extending very soon to the Philippines in areas such as agriculture and tech.

Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss made the announcement in time for Jewish New Year.

Rosh Hashanah or the Jewish New Year is a time of rejoicing and serious introspection. This is one of Judaism's holiest days. Meaning "head of the year" or "first of the year," the festival begins on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, which falls during September or October.

"The Embassy of Israel looks back on the fruitful year we had here in Manila. The recent visit of Israeli FM Eli Cohen signified the strong relations between Israel and the Philippines. It further strengthened our bilateral relations and the areas of cooperation such as agriculture and water, trade and economy, innovation and technology, and defense," Fluss said. "The embassy is working closely with the Philippine government to reap the fruits of the high-level visit."

Earlier this month, the country sponsored the visit to the Philippines of Deputy Director of Volcanic Institute of Israel Profressor Uri Yermiyahu, who talked about agriculture with relevant agriculture leaders, departments and agrimovers in the Philippines.

"This is one way to answer the call of President Marcos for Israel to do more in agriculture," Fluss said.

This year, the Philippines is expecting a visit from the Israel Asia Chamber of Commerce to the Philippines.

Another economic event happening next month is the first Israel-Philippines Joint Economic Committee in Jerusalem.

A delegation from Israel's Minister of Defense International Defense Cooperation is currently in the Philippines to strengthen further the defense cooperation between two nations.

"Another high-level delegation from the Israeli Ministry of Defense-SIBAT will be paying a visit to the Philippines soon, which is a manifestation of our close defense partnership," Fluss said.

The embassy has been more active in other areas to bring Israel and the Philippines closer. Israel recently participated in the Manila Improv Festival and held a side event for the Israeli Improv group dedicated to the OFWs in Israel and to remember the late DMW Secretary Ople.

Annually, the embassy participates in the Brigada Eskwela of the Department of Education.

This year, Israel also built a mini-library called Jerusalem Learning Resource Center in Barangay Bagong Tanyag Annex A in Taguig, working closely with the DepEd, and we actually agreed on commemorating together the International Holocaust Remembrance Day every January.

MASHAV, Israel's agency for International Cooperation, has been offering training programs for Filipinos to go to Israel. Some of the training courses are about environmental challenges, flood forecasting, intensive fish farming, inclusive Early Childhood Education for Children with Disabilities. We are happy that some Filipinos got accepted as MASHAV Scholars.

"We will also enhance the level of interaction between our countries and people. We are working on promoting the innovation and technology of Israel to different academes around the Philippines," Fluss said.

In October, Israel is expecting Filipino delegations to join the Agritech 2023 in Israel, one of the most important exhibitions in the fields of technology, irrigation, fertilization, agricultural mechanization, water and food. Agritech is also a leading platform for global exhibitors presenting the best innovative technologies in the field of agriculture.