(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this evening (Sunday), 24 January 2010, met with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, who is visiting Israel, as the guest of Science and Technology Minister Prof. Daniel Hershkovitz, in the framework of the Fifth Annual International Ilan Ramon Space Conference. Science and Technology Minister Hershkovitz, Israel Space Agency Chairman Prof. Yitzhak Ben-Yisrael, US Ambassador to Israel, James B. Cunningham, and other senior officials also attended the meeting. Participants discussed various possibilities for NASA-ISA cooperation given Israel expertise in various fields, such as satellites, research, etc.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said that, "Israel is very much interested in cooperation with NASA, in light of both the outstanding human resources we have in the country and the great technological achievements we have made." The Prime Minister asked that Israeli astronauts be involved in future NASA space missions.
Science and Technology Minister Hershkovitz hailed NASA Administrator Bolden's visit as "a new peak in Israel-US space relations," and as "an expression of appreciation for Israel's technological achievements in the space field." He also commended the visit as a "gesture of respect to the Ramon family."