Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. Eli Cohen presented (Monday, 12/25/23) certificates of appreciation to 13 businessmen and economic organizations who have been working in close cooperation with the Foreign Affairs Ministry's representations to promote the Israeli economy around the world.

The Foreign Affairs Minister emphasized that in their activities, the businessmen promote Israel's abilities to operate in the international arena and to expand its economic and commercial ties.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. Eli Cohen: "The activity on the international political front, which is led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, strengthens Israel's economy and the Israeli economy. This activity is reflected in the signing agreements and promoting economic delegations and at the same time in the work of Israeli businessmen and economic organizations that promote trade and investment relations worldwide and strengthen Israel's foreign relations. The businessmen and economic organizations that receive recognition today are a significant factor in Israel's connection to the world. They work, together with Israel's embassies abroad, to promote Israel's economic and political interests and relations.

The recipients of the recognition certificates:

1.      Dr. Shuki Gleitman - Chairman of the GIBF group, Chief Scientist and former Director-General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment.
2.      Mr. Oshik Efrati - CEO of Home Biogas company.
3.      Mr. Ami Lustig - Owner of the LR company.
4.      Mr. Amir Rappaport - Founder and CEO of Cybertech company.
5.      Dr. Rafi Kot - Founder and CEO of Family Practice Clinic.
6.      Ms. Yasmin Lukach - Founder and CEO of the ICON NGOT association.
7.      Mr. Ofer Oved - Representative of Netafim company in Turkey.
8.      Mr. Noam Sorek - Former senior executive at MobileODT.
9.      Mr. Ofer Kerzner - Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Israel.
10.  Mr. Yitzhak (Tzachi) Israel - President of the Israel-South China Chamber of Commerce in Guangzhou and Co-Director of the consulting company, Double Win.
11.  Mr. Gad Shoshan - Chairman of the Israel-Turkey Chamber of Commerce and an executive at Ormat Technologies.
12.  The textile company Delta Galil and its founder the late Dov Lautman.
13.  Ms. Sabin Segal - Vice President for International Relations at the Israeli Export Institute.

The recipients of the certificates of appreciation were chosen in a professional procedure by a special committee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed by the Deputy Director General, Yossi Dayan. This, after creating a list of candidates based on the recommendation by Israel's embassies around the world and the regional divisions in the ministry. The committee's decisions were approved by the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ronan Levy (Maoz).

The Guangzhou Life Sciences Incubator, established by the Israel-Guangzhou Investment Group earlier this year, announced Wednesday its first partnership with an Israeli incubator, Haifa-based MindUP.

MindUP, a digital health incubator, is a joint venture of Medtronic, IBM, Pitango Venture Capital and Rambam Medical Center, in collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority.

Representatives from the Israel-Guangzhou Investment Group, Guangzhou Life-Sciences Incubator, Huangpu District and the Haifa municipality sign a collaboration agreement, November 21, 2018. 

“This is an additional step in building a strong relationship between the city of Guangzhou and the life sciences industry in Israel,” said Dr. Shuki Gleitman, head of the Israel-Guangzhou Investment Group.

“We are at the beginning of a process that already includes the Guangzhou Sino-Israel Biotech Investment Fund and now also the incubator,” Gleitman said.

The agreement with MindUP provides guidance for the establishment of a “parallel incubator,” under which the Guangzhou government will invest in Israeli companies while assisting them to penetrate the Chinese market.

“Our portfolio companies, like many other companies in digital health and other areas, are very much interested in the huge Chinese market,” said Dan Shwarzman, CEO of MindUP.

“The cooperation with the Guangzhou Life Sciences Incubator may accelerate the process and make it easier for our companies to get familiar with the Chinese market, to adjust the solutions developed by them to the unique needs of this market and to establish a strong base in China,” he said.

In August, the Israel-Guangzhou Investment Group teamed up with the Guangzhou government to launch the life sciences incubator in the city’s Bio-Island industrial park.

The program is based on the Israeli incubation model, knowledge and method. The incubator is controlled by the Israeli group and enjoys financial support from the Chinese government.

The Guangzhou Sino-Israel Biotech Investment Fund, led by Dr. Shuki Gleitman, has launched a unique technology incubator in a biotechnology island in Guangzhou, China, which will operate based on the Israeli incubation model, knowledge and methods.

China is still the largest “untapped market for the Israeli business sector with enormous opportunities,” said Gleitman, chairman of the Guangzhou Innovation Office in Tel Aviv, and a former chief scientist in the Ministry of Industry and Trade. “It requires a different way for doing business comparing the traditional markets, a bit different attitude. But China is really open for doing business with Israel.”

Xian Yinsong, executive vice chair of Guangzhou’s Huangpu District, said the Chinese-Israeli cooperation marked an exciting moment in bilateral relations.

“This innovation will strengthen cooperation in biotechnology and other life sciences, such as medicine and the environment,” she said. “The Guangzhou district offers wonderful opportunities for investors from abroad and together we can be world leaders.”

The incubator’s launch ceremony on Monday was attended by high-level Guangzhou officials, entrepreneurs and Israel’s consul general, Nadav Cohen.

“I’m very happy to be here today at the opening ceremony of the new Israeli incubator of the (Guangzhou Sino-Israel Biotech Investment Fund) here at the Biotech Island,” said Cohen. “I’m delighted to see that your dreams are starting to come true. This is a very high and unique level of technological cooperation. I wish this incubator and all the Israeli and Chinese companies good luck and success.”

The establishment of the incubator is another important and unique milestone in broadening economic and scientific collaboration between the city of Guangzhou and Israel, focusing on innovation and hi-tech.

Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and the capital of Guangdong, China’s richest province. It sits on the Pearl River about 120 km northwest of Hong Kong and is one of China’s Five National Central Cities that serve as hubs for other international cities, with the goal of leading China’s efforts to become a global leader in the fields of technology and innovation. The estimated population for the city is more than 20 million.

The incubator will be managed by a team of Israeli and Chinese experts using knowledge and expertise developed in Israel, considered to be a world leader in technology and innovation. The fund’s goal is to invest in and promote the establishment of Chinese subsidiaries of Israeli companies active in the biomedical field.

The Chinese subsidiaries have access to the intellectual property of the Israeli parent company and total freedom of operation in China. Like in Israel, the incubator will provide companies with governmental grants to be repaid only when a company succeeds.

The first two companies accepted into the incubator were a Chinese subsidiary of Israeli company Neurotech Solutions, a provider of ADHD screening and diagnostic test software, and Chinese company Alagen, which develops medication for infant skin tumors. Since January 2017, the fund has established five such companies within Israeli companies.

The Guangzhou Sino-Israel Biotech Investment Fund, a 600 million RMB fund (approximately $100M) is the group responsible for the new incubator, with its lead investor as the Guangzhou Municipal Government.

The fund is managed by four Israeli partners, Chairman Dr. Shuki Gleitman, CEO Avner Lushi, Prof. Avraham Karasik, Prof. Shlomo Noy, and one Chinese partner, Carl Geng.

Over the last few years, the group established a strong presence in Guangzhou and became a noticeable player in the ecosystem while advancing the Israel-Guangzhou cooperation platform and partnering with the Guangzhou government as a strategic partner and investor. Guangzhou International Biotech Island is also a partner in the incubator’s establishment.

Last year, the group was requested to establish and manage a formal economic representative office of the city of Guangzhou in Israel, thus forming the. Guangzhou Innovation Office in Israel. Managed by CEO Liraz Geva, the office is engaged in promoting technology and innovation cooperation between Guangzhou and Israel.

The office focuses on connecting Israeli companies with strategic and financial partners in China. They pull from the group’s wide network of connections within both private and public sectors in Guangzhou.

The group is in the process of establishing an additional fund in partnership with the local government using a similar model. The new fund will focus on more general technology areas such as IT and auto technology.

At the end of the launch ceremony, dozens of guests and Chinese and Israeli journalists were treated to a performance of traditional lion dancing by local actors and musicians.

“The Guangzhou representative office in Israel creates business opportunities and connects Israeli companies to investors and strategic partners in China,” said Geva.

“It also assists companies and other Chinese organizations to establish activities in Israel. It may be challenging for Israeli companies to find the right business channels for them in China but our unique position as the government’s representatives opens many horizons.”