Interesting development

Thanks to Herb Epstein for sharing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today with Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius and said to him the start of their meeting:

“Prime Minister, it’s good to see you in Jerusalem. Welcome. I think it’s safe to say that we have an extraordinary history together and I think a very bright future together.

The history of the relationship between the people of Lithuania and the Jewish people dates back a thousand years. My own family hails from Lithuania. My grandfather was born in Lithuania. The Jewish community in Lithuania and especially around Vilnius had remarkable achievements, spectacular intellectual achievements, but of course we also experienced the horrors of the Holocaust and I think it’s very important to preserve that memory and that heritage so that we may learn the lessons of the past and avoid repeating them in the future.

We have today a thriving relationship. We’re both thriving democracies, not without challenges but with great successes. We have exchanges between us that are in the field of economy, the field of technology, the field of culture. I think we can do a great deal more. We are forging new paths in many technological areas and most especially in cyber security.

Last year the global investments in cyber security in Israel were 10% of total worldwide investments. This year they’re 20%. It’s doubled in one year, and every day, this morning too, we learn about new investments. So Israel is a world leader in cyber security, and I believe you also have had some experience with that.

I believe that we have much to profit by cooperating with one another. I look forward to our conversations to that effect and I welcome you in a great spirit of friendship to Jerusalem. Welcome.”

Video:

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