Consul General of Israel to the Midwest Yinam Cohen addressed the Illinois House of Representatives on Wednesday at the invitation of Speaker Chris Welch to commemorate Israel’s 75th anniversary.
During his address, Cohen stressed the importance of the strategic alliance between the United States and Israel, in particular the growing partnership between the state of Illinois.
“There are mutually beneficial opportunities for companies in Illinois to partner with Israeli companies,” he said. “The Israeli Consulate in Chicago is focused on cultivating partnerships between Israeli and local companies developing agricultural, medical, climate and even Quantum technologies.”
Prior to his address, Cohen met with Welch and the Illinois House leadership to discuss further opportunities for joint efforts between Illinois and Israel. He also highlighted community projects the Consulate has been involved in across Chicagoland.
“Models of Israeli trauma treatment, entrepreneurship and urban gardening are being implemented from Englewood to Bronzeville to Little Village, as tools for the work that local community organizations and leaders are already doing,” noted Cohen.
With 400 global companies having Research and Development (R&D) centers in the “Start-Up Nation,” including IBM, Apple, Microsoft and General Motors, Israel spends the highest percentage of its budget on research and development than any country in the world.
