US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and his Israeli counterpart, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, signed a new joint energy deal in Jerusalem on Monday.
The agreement expands areas of US-Israel cooperation to include fuels and fuel alternatives, natural gas, smart grid technologies, desalination and water treatment, and the physical and cyber-defense of energy and water installations.
Israel is a leading force with desalination technology, has become a natural gas empire after the discovery of several gas fields of its coast, and is a noted global leader in the cyber-tech world.
The deal was born from the understanding that developing advanced technologies in the fields of energy and water, for the purpose of creating secure methods of delivery while protecting the environment and making energy more efficient, is of utmost importance to both countries.
Steinitz, who accompanied Moniz on a tour of Masada in southern Israel on Monday, said, “The new agreement that was signed today is further proof of the countries’ close relationship. I am convinced that cooperation in the energy field will grow in the coming years.”
Moniz also met with Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu, took an aerial tour of central Israel, and visited the world’s largest seawater desalination plant in Sorek, south of Tel Aviv.
By: JNS.org and United with Israel Staff