Gilad Cohen, at The Blogs

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Dec 15, 2020, 3:45 PM

The road to happiness: How we established ties with Bhutan

Bhutan's former prime minister, Tshering Tobgay, center, with Daniel Carmon, Israel's ambassador to India at the time (left) and Asia-Pacific Division Director Gilad Cohen, in 2017. (Courtesy Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Our clandestine visits laid the ground for agreements on agriculture, health and water, as well as the chance to improve voting patterns in the UN

Dec 3, 2020, 2:53 PM

Win-win-win: The Abraham Accords’ opportunities with Asia

Illustrative: Solar panels in the desert near Eilat, Israel. (Moshe Shai/FLASH90)

Trilateral cooperation leveraging complementary strengths and strong historic ties mean boons in security, food, medicine, energy and much more

Aug 26, 2020, 4:00 PM

The advantages of free-trade agreements with Asia

Just think of the strategic and financial boon for Israel if its UAE deal eases trade routes with as many as 11 bustling Asian economies

Jul 27, 2020, 12:25 PM

From Israel to India with friendship in the face of pandemic

Israeli medical, defense and security experts, and returning diplomats arrive in India, July 26, 2020 (courtesy Israel embassy in New Delhi)

Bilateral relations, once antagonistic, are now deepening, with mutual trade and medical assistance and Israeli agricultural know-how

Apr 12, 2020, 3:33 PM

From the East, good shall come

Illustrative. Workers unload a cargo plane at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens, March 31, 2020. The cargo plane carrying more than 13 million surgical masks has arrived in Greece, as part of a major shipment of medical supplies from China. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Remember the sparse diplomatic relations and limited trade between Israel and countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, India, Singapore? No longer; now, they come to our aid

Jan 20, 2020, 3:27 PM

International Holocaust Remembrance Day almost didn’t happen

Survivors of Auschwitz arrive at the International Monument to the Victims of Fascism at the former concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz II-Birkenau on International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Oswiecim, Poland, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

The European UN rep said they wouldn't support the initiative because of Arab opposition. I felt a sense of fury washing over me

Aug 20, 2019, 2:58 PM

Lowering the cost of living in Israel

Illustrative. President Reuven Rivlin, left, speaks to South Korean President Moon Jae-in during their meeting at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, July 15, 2019. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)

Household items from Hyundai, Kia, Samsung, LG, and more should cost less, once the Free Trade Zone between Israel and South Korea takes effect

Jul 15, 2019, 9:37 AM

Israel and Korea are having a moment

President Reuven Rivlin arrives for an official visit to South Korea on July 14, 2019. (Tomer Reichman (courtesy)/GPO)

President Rivlin's visit is an excellent chance to strengthen cooperation with a great and true friend of Israel

Dec 3, 2018, 12:50 AM

Facing east: What Asia means to the Israeli energy market

An Israeli Navy Sa'ar 5 corvette defends a natural gas extraction platform off Israel's coast, in an undated photograph. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israel's growing natural gas stores create an unprecedented opportunity to penetrate the vast markets of the East

Sep 20, 2018, 2:09 PM

On Israel and Duterte: It’s complicated, but good

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his speech to officials at Malacanang palace in Manila, August 6, 2018. (AFP photo/Ted Aljibe)

It was our professional obligation to host him, and the fruits of the visit are already evident

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About Me

Gilad Cohen is Deputy Director General for Asia and the Pacific at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.