Communicating Arts - Main Web SiteI'm roughing in what I can from the Internet on Israel's trade with the Ummah.
Despite boycotts and prohibitions in certain of the Islamic states, which I may for convenience define as Muslim-ruled or Muslim-majority, the Ummah benefits from agreements with Israeli firms providing goods or services openly--not illegal trade--to Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia.
Israeli firms also have been subcontracting to Palestinian-owned firms, a mutually beneficial practice that has, of course, significant positive political ramifications.
While I search around for government statistics on this matter--they should be played high on relevant web sites, but they're not--the following comprises some quick web observation.
--
Free Trade Agreements Signed: Canada (1996), Turkey (1997), and Mexico (2000).
Middle East Qualified Industrial Zone Agreements: Jordan (1997), Egypt (2004).
Source: Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, Foreign Trade Administration, Introduction: http://www.moital.gov.il/NR/exeres/D9A13F42-8402-4F72-BC0F-97AEB2F68596.htm
Indonesia: Trade agreement signed, July 14, 2006: Manufacturers Association of Israel (MAI) and Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI). Source: Afterman, Gedaliah, "Israel, Indonesia forge economic ties." The Australian Jewish News: http://www.ajn.com.au/news/news.asp?pgID=1095
Nigeria: Trade agreement signed, November 1992: Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce with "Israeli counterparts" to promote bilateral investments and trade: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4803/is_/ai_n17451365
Twist: With Israels foreign embassies in West Africa recently threatened by Hezbollah, Nigeria's Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro, noted his force would give maximum security support to all embassies: "We want to assured the world that Nigeria is safe for investors to come and invest." Source: "Nigeria: Israeli Embassies Under Security Threat - Envoy." AllAfrica.com, August 5, 2008: http://allafrica.com/stories/200808050671.html
Morocco: Since 1994: direct telephone and mail links; authorized travel for religious leaders and businessmen in both directions; intent to produce joint banking arrangement. Source: Sciolino, Elaine. "Morocco to Widen Links with Israel." The New York Times, December 13, 1993: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE4DF173DF930A25751C1A965958260
A few years have passed since Morocco, an Arab country with deep ties to Israel--about 650,000 Jews of Moroccan descent were living in Israel in 1992, and about 8,000 Jews were continuing to live in Morocco at that time--agreed to expand its relationship with the Jewish state. This month's quirky headline: "Israeli Dates Flooding Moroccan Markets" (Istockanalyst.com, September 8, 2008: https://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews+articleid_2590785.html). "Sources added that merchants tend to remove the Israeli label and sell the dates as if they were made in Arab countries like Egypt. The per kilogram price of the smuggled Israeli date into Morocco, branded as Majhoul (unknown), rises as high as MD 120 ($15) for the high quality brand and MD 30 for the low quality brand," states the article.
The story about the dates may be either perennial or a perennial rumor, as it appeared September 26, 2007 on "IsraelInsider" with the title, "Moroccan Muslims can't get enough Israeli dates" (http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Culture/12124.htm).
Saudi Arabia: "Israeli exports to Saudi Arabia totaled USD 470,000 in the first half of 2006, constituting a rise of 10 percent compared to the first half of 2005, data published by the Manufacturers Association of Israel revealed." Source: Goldstein, Tani. "12 Israeli firms exporting to Saudi Arabia." YNetNews.com, September 26, 2006: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3308116,00.html
West Bank, Palestinian Israel: "Recently a new trend has started: Israeli companies and branches of multinational companies in Israel are outsourcing work to Palestinians." Israeli firms are sourcing to Palestinian-owned business, and both prosper through sales to third parties. Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian companies sets the pace for building peace." July 7, 2008: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/Cooperation%20between%20Israeli%20and%20Palestinian%20companies%20sets%20the%20pace%20for%20building%20peace%20%207-Jul-2008
# # #
Comments