(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an economic and research partnership agreement with California Gov. Jerry Brown.
The agreement signed Wednesday will enhance cooperation between Israel and California in a number of areas, including water conservation, alternative energy, cybersecurity, health and biotechnology, education and agricultural technology, according to a news release from Brown’s office.
It also allows Israeli companies access to Californian technology research facilities, including technology incubators, research parks, federal laboratories and universities.
“Through this agreement, California and Israel will build on their respective strengths in research and technology to confront critical problems we both face, such as water scarcity, cybersecurity and climate change,” Brown said in the statement.
Netanyahu said “the opportunities of our partnerships are truly limitless. They’re limited only by our imagination.”
While in California, Netanyahu met with Apple CEO Tim Cook, as well as with Jan Koum and Brian Acton, founders of the text messaging service WhatsApp. On Thursday, a day before his return to Israel, he was scheduled to visit the Museum of Tolerance, part of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.
Netanyahu is in the midst of a U.S. visit that included a White House meeting with President Obama on Monday and an address before the annual AIPAC policy conference on Tuesday.
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