The Soviet Union and Poland are shaping up as serious markets for Israeli exports.
Agriculture Minister Avraham Katz-Oz returned from Moscow Sunday night, after signing a series of agreements with Soviet officials, including a deal for Israeli agricultural products to be shipped this winter.
Vice Premier Shimon Peres, who returned from a visit to Poland last week, told the Cabinet on Sunday that the Poles want to improve trade with Israel in the fields of telecommunications, aviation, medical technology and tourism.
They are willing to sign a host of economic and trade agreements, said Peres, who serves as finance minister. He predicted bilateral trade with Poland would quickly rise to $50 million, double its current level.
Katz-Oz was the first Israeli Cabinet minister to visit the Soviet Union since the Kremlin broke diplomatic relations with Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War.
He told reporters that Agrexco, the agricultural marketing board, will send an initial shipment of 90,000 tons of Israeli fruit and vegetables, valued at $30 million, to the Soviet Union.
The produce will be carried in Soviet ships and cargo aircraft that will call in Israel. Moscow will pay in U.S. dollars.
In addition to providing the goods for export, Israel agreed to assist the Soviets in water planning, cotton production and the establishment of dairies and chicken farms.
YOUTH EXCHANGE SET
Katz-Oz and his delegation also reached an accord on youth exchanges with the Soviet Union. Under the agreement, 1,000 children from each country will participate in reciprocal visits.
The Soviet youth delegation coming to Israel will include 50 teen-agers from the Chernobyl region, the scene of a major nuclear plant disaster in April 1986. They will undergo medical tests.
Meanwhile, a delegation of El Al’s top management left for Moscow on Monday to conclude talks with the Soviet airline Aeroflot on joint service between the two countries.
The El Al group, headed by the airline’s director general, Rafi Har-Lev, expects to reach final agreements with the Soviets on a starting date for the service and on the fares for flights between Moscow or Leningrad and Tel Aviv.
Peres, briefing the Cabinet on his three-day visit in Poland, said the Poles would like Israelis to invest in their country, but are even more interested in investments by Jews in the Diaspora.
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