Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Moshe Shahal, negotiated important petroleum and coal contracts with Colombia and Mexico at the beginning of January, it was reported here by informed sources.
Under the terms of the agreement with Mexico, Israel will purchase $800 million worth of petroleum annually, covering approximately 40 percent of its consumption. This makes Mexico Israel’s largest acknowledged oil supplier, followed by Egypt.
Mexico, in turn, has agreed to purchase $100 million worth of Israeli industrial products yearly. This represents a 20-fold increase over Israel’s best level of exports to the oil-rich Central American country, and traditional supporter.
The coal contract with Colombia, a renewal of an existing accord, is for a total of $200 million over a five-year period. In exchange, Colombia will buy a variety of Israeli products valued at $500 million over the five-year spon.
These contracts reflect the increasing importance of bilateral Israeli-Latin American trade relations throughout the hemisphere, the sources said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
