Yesterday, Lt. General (Res.) Gabi Ashkenazi was sworn in as the new Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister,
Replacing Israel Katz, next Israeli Finance Minister.

We congratulate Minister Ashkenazi and wish Minister Katz the best luck!

Happening today!
Check out these interesting MASHAV webinars at 1PM and 2PM (Israel time).

For more information and to sign up:
https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/Lifestyle/Pages/MASHAV-online-lectures-for-these-challenging-times-30-March-2020.aspx

History!

An Etihad Airways cargo plane from Abu Dhabi landed in Israel yesterday evening for the first time,
carrying humanitarian aid which will be delivered by the UN to the Palestinian Authority & Gaza, to help in coping with the Corona Virus crisis.

NOW: Sirens in southern Israel 🔊

On Friday morning (June 19th), members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemned Iran for violating the Safeguards Agreements they have signed with the agency.

Iran continues to systematically violate all international commitments it has signed and is working to hide evidence and disrupt investigations in order to deceive the international community.

The world must set a clear red line for Iran 🔊🔊🔊

For further information:
https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/PressRoom/2020/Pages/IAEA-Board-of-Governors-condemns-Iran-for-violating-the-Safeguards-Agreements-19-June-2020.aspx

The Coronavirus poses new challenges (& opportunities) for governments & foreign ministries worldwide 🌎, making diplomacy more digital than ever before.

We're convening the DD 2020 virtual conference to discuss just that, with representatives from +20 countries.
Stay tuned for updates and sneak peeks throughout the two-day conference which begins tomorrow!

ℹ️ 🔗 :https://govextra.gov.il/foreign-affairs/virtual-ddconf/home/

Israeli FM Gabi Ashkenazi welcomed this morning Cypriot FM Nikos Christodoulides after landing at Ben Gurion Airport 🚁.

Intending to further strengthen bilateral relations between Israel & Cyprus, the two will discuss increased cooperation in the economics, security and strategic realms 🤝.

Curious to know how might digital diplomacy
look in the future?

Wondering how does the Israeli MFA make digital work during Corona times?

Yiftah Curiel, our dear head of the Department for Digital Diplomacy, is answering some interesting questions.

Read it now 🔗⏬
https://www.eng.arenajournal.org.il/single-post/2020/06/21/Curiel-Digital-Diplomacy-ENG

FM Gabi Ashkenazi:

I thanked Special Envoy Hook for the US's courageous stance, and for them not being afraid to do the right thing to stop the danger posed by Iran's nuclear and regional activity.

I repeated our concerns to the Special Envoy about Iran's continued breach of the arms embargo. Iran continues to support and arm its proxies in the region, chief among them Hezbollah and Hamas.

Group 42, a technology company based in Abu Dhabi, announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems & Israel Aerospace Industries, to explore collaborations in the research and development of effective solutions to combat COVID-19.

Israel recently obtained observer status to the Ad hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence at the Council of Europe.

Other observer member include Canada, the United States, Japan, Mexico and the Vatican.

We are looking forward to sharing our knowledge and expertise in tech and AI with the international community.