THE HON. MALCOLM TURNBULL MP
PRIME MINISTER
MEDIA RELEASE
20 February 2017
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Australia
I am looking forward, with Lucy, to welcoming the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his wife, Mrs Sara Netanyahu, to Australia.
This is a historic visit – the first by an Israeli Prime Minister – and it demon­strates the strength of our rela­tion­ship and its import­ance to both countries.
The friend­ship between Israel and Australia dates back to the estab­lish­ment of Israel in 1948. It is anchored in our shared values, com­mit­ment to democracy and mutual interest in a rules-based inter­na­tion­al system and an open, global economy.
Later this year we will jointly com­mem­or­ate the 100^th anniversary of the Battle of Beersheba, a found­a­tion stone of the rela­tion­ship.
The Prime Minister’s visit is an oppor­tun­ity to not only reflect on our shared past, but to invig­or­ate and further deepen the rela­tion­ship for the benefit of our people. We will discuss expanding cooper­a­tion in cyber-security, innov­a­tion and science, agritech, energy and resources, and the envir­on­ment.
During the visit, our countries will sign an agreement on Tech­no­lo­gic­al Innov­a­tion and Research and Devel­op­ment, providing a framework for our sci­ent­ists, engineers and busi­nesses to create the jobs and indus­tries of the future. We will also sign an agreement on Air Services, expanding our com­mer­cial and people-to-people links.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Mrs Netanyahu will spend 22 – 25 February in Australia. They will be accom­pan­ied by a del­eg­a­tion of business leaders from Israel. I look forward to working with them to further strengthen ties between our countries.
Media contacts:
Prime Minister’s Press Office – 6277 7744