Israel's Minister of National Infrastructures, Binyamin (Fouad) Ben Eliezer, and his colleague, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Boldman, signed a joint memorandum of understanding at the conclusion of Minister Ben Eliezer's visit to Washington D.C.  The memorandum states that Israel and the United States will cooperate in the field of renewable energy. These understandings are a further step in Minister Ben Eliezer's efforts to achieve the goals he has set for Israel in the field of renewable energy, energy efficiency and the reduction of pollutants.

The signing ceremony, which took place at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington D.C., was the pinnacle of Minister Ben Eliezer's economic-political visit to the United States. During his visit, Ben Eliezer participated in the world's largest conference on renewable energy, WIREC 2008. The ceremony at the Department of Energy was also attended by Director General of the Ministry of National Infrastructures Hezi Kugler, and Israel's Ambassador to the U.S., Salai Meridor.

The Memorandum of Understanding agreed upon is one of the items on the energy bill recently signed by the U.S. president. It was agreed that both parties would work together on a detailed plan for implementing the joint endeavor. In the meeting, both sides agreed to set up joint work teams in order to complete the plan in the near future.

During the meeting with his American counterpart, Minister of National Infrastructures Binyamin (Fouad) Ben Eliezer reviewed the main projects his office has been working on. The minister said that "the world is not necessarily aware of the dangers that loom if we do not work to ensure sources of energy. An integral part of ensuring such sources is decentralizing sources, including switching to the use of alternative, renewable types of energy that are not dependent on energy supplies from other countries in the world.

"We must cooperate for the sake of our children and grandchildren in the generations to come. The agreement we signed today will pave the way for the development of technologies in the field of renewable energy." The minister stressed that the best minds in Israel and the U.S. will strive to put into practice the important agreement just signed.

The U.S. secretary, on his part, stressed that the Department of Energy made a concerted effort to bring about the memorandum of understanding, and they now intend to work hard with Israel in order to advance it. In addition, he said that he considers relations with Israel to be important, and this is one way to continue bolstering these relations.

After the meeting, Minister Ben Eliezer congratulated Ambassador Meridor. "This memorandum of understanding is the result of prolonged work by the Embassy's personnel in Washington, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the personnel of the Ministry of National Infrastructures." The minister thanked the ambassador and his team for having arranged the successful visit.

Attached is the Memorandum of Understanding.