The Israeli Ambassador to China Zvi Heifetz (left) and the Secretary General of CAIEP Zhang Jianguo at the signing ceremony Photo: Courtesy of the Israeli Embassy in China.

The Israeli Ambassador to China Zvi Heifetz and the Secretary General of China Association for the International Exchange of Personnel (CAIEP) Zhang Jianguo signed the 2019-21 cooperation agreement between Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MASHAV) and CAIEP at the Beijing Foreign Experts Building on Thursday. This is the sixth cooperation agreement signed by the two sides since the signing of the first letter of cooperation in Jerusalem in 1999. 

The purpose of the cooperation is to carry out human resources training and cooperation through field training courses, short-term consultations and training programs in Israel. Over the past two decades, MASHAV has sent Israeli experts to China each year to conduct two field training courses. These training courses are mainly held in the western provinces of China. Meanwhile, CAIEP sends one to two 25-person training groups each year to Israel to participate in tailor-made training courses. The training area mainly involves prevention of desertification, animal husbandry, environmental protection, flower planting, water-saving irrigation, education management and public health.