The Israeli Ambassador designate to the Pacific countries, Roi Rosenblit, during a courtesy visit to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Biman Prasad in Suva yesterday. [Source: Fiji Government]

Thirteen students from the Navuso Agriculture Technical Institute have been selected to travel to Israel in the coming weeks as part of an internship program.

The Israeli Ambassador designate to the Pacific countries, Roi Rosenblit, revealed this during a courtesy visit to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Biman Prasad in Suva yesterday.

Rosenblit says these students will work in the agriculture sector for a period of about 10 months and earn a salary.

He says they will work five days a week, and one day will be dedicated to learning about new agricultural technology.

He also expressed his interest in assisting the Government financially with operating the Embassy of Fiji in Israel if the Government decides to open its Embassy in Jerusalem.

Prasad says Jerusalem was the area of preference to establish an Embassy; however, this has to be further discussed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He also extended the Coalition Government’s interest in partnering with Israel to build climate-resilient infrastructure for agriculture.

He pointed out that Fiji’s tourism industry can be fragile in times like the pandemic, so agriculture has been one of the main focus areas of the government’s efforts to diversify its economy.