In a determined effort to upgrade France's mysteriously modest industrial and trade relations with Israel, industry and energy minister Eric Besson has signed two cooperation accords in Jerusalem
Besson was heading a delegation from some 20 mid-sized companies, or SMEs, and large corporations, in conjunction with MEDEF, the French industrial association, and the Chambre de Commerce France Israel, CCFI.
He set the tone quickly at a press conference at the King David Hotel, noting, "trade and industry relations between France and Israel are not at the level that could be expected, so we must work to up the figures. I would like to double the level of exchanges in the next five years."
Later on at the "soirée" at the residence of French ambassador Christophe Bigot, Besson added with a smile, "doubling the figures may sound very ambitious, but the departure point is indeed modest." There was laughter all around.
The first accord was signed with Israeli infrastructure minister Uzi Landau, concerning renewable energy and energy efficiency. pThe second was with newly named industry, trade and labor minister Shalom Simhon, and was basically an administrative accord between the OSEO, the financing arm of the French industrial association, and Matimop, the Israeli equivalent, to back joint R&D projects.
According to official French figures, France exported 1.3 billion euros worth of goods and services to Israel in 2010, while Israeli exports to France totaled 850 million euros. Minister Simhon had slightly different figures, but nobody seemed to mind. The figures jumped 15% in 2010 after declining 20% in 2009.
"It's true that there has been a hike," said CCFI President Henri Cukierman, but the problem is that overall Israeli imports and exports increased by about 25% in 2010. This means that with other countries, the figures are much better, so in fact, France is losing market share.
"The bottom line is many French companies still think it is dangerous to come to Israel, even though it is the most stable country in the region. Or they are afraid of endangering relations with the Arab world, even though Germany proves the opposite."
Germany does at least three times the amount of business with Israel that France does, while maintaining extensive commercial and industrial relations with the Arab world.
In the background of all this diplomatic hulabaloo, at least two people were all smiles. Jerome Malavoy, President of TraceOne, a Paris-based software developer and major player in the European food and beverage market, is about to sign a partnership accord with Herzliya-based Sparta Systems, a world leader in pharmaceutical industry software.
Malavoy and Sparta managing director Yaniv Vardi were visibly very comfortable talking about the partnership to be signed in mid-February, after meeting only a year ago. "His software with ours will give our clients a complete solution from manufacturing, distribution to sales," said the Frenchman. "I gain three years of work time with this partnership."
Yaniv Vardi noted, "More than 70% of pharmaceutical quality and compliance process systems in Europe are Sparta's. We also work in the United States. And now it is time to grow our business. The synergy on this is great."
"Yes, this could be an opportunity for TraceOne to jump into the US market in the future," added Malavoy.
"It is very often true that French company executives are rather slow in making decisions, while the Israelis are very, very quick about saying yes or no," he said. "Well, here you have an exception to the rule. We both moved quickly. And there should be more cases like ours."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 2, 2011
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