Florida is well known for its space efforts; the Kennedy Space Center of Cape Canaveral located in Florida. Now – for the first time – that state’s governor has signed an important memorandum of understanding with the Israel Space Agency (ISA) in Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
Minister of Science and Technology Ofir Akunis declared: “This is another expression of the strength of Israel’s international relations in general and with the US in particular.”
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The signing ceremony in Jerusalem was attended by Akunis and Florida’s Republican governor Ronald Dion DeSantis, a lawyer, former naval officer who has served as the 46th governor of the state since January of this year. He previously represented Florida’s 6th congressional district in Congress from 2013 to 2018. Also present at the ceremony was Frank DeBello of Space Florida, Science and Technology Ministry director-general Ran Bar, ISA chairman Yitzhak Ben-Yisrael and ISA director-general Avi Blassberger.
As part of the agreement, the bodies will work together to establish educational programs to promote science and technology in Israel and Florida and to identify common challenges in the field of space for academic and industrial cooperation and to meet challenges in the fields of climate, agriculture, and water.
“Israel’s cooperation in science, technology and the field of space crosses borders and is growing all over the world,” said Akunis. It is mainly strengthened by our fruitful dialogue with the US. I congratulate Governor DeSantis and thank him for his visit to Israel and for his support. It is a great privilege and a great honor to work together with the Governor in launching joint resources to improve our common future.
“Today we are encouraging a partnership that will benefit both Florida’s and Israel’s space industries, and I would like to thank the Israel Space Agency’s directors for their partnership in creating opportunities and expanding cooperation and enrichment in the fields of research and education for our students,” said the governor. Innovation to new heights
Blassberger added that “the great efforts we invested during the past year were successful in achieving this special status: the ISA and Space Florida are willing to work together to map potential areas and establish cooperation to create space exploration, scientific research and innovation missions. All this is done through the joint promotion of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, a great step for the welfare of our communities and our peoples.”
The cooperation between the ISA and Space Florida has grown much stronger in recent years. Its CEO visited this year’s Ilan Ramon 2019 International Space Conference and took part last January in the Space Initiative and Space Lab workshops as part of Space Week events.