Dmitry Maryasis: “The Caucasus has something to offer Israel”

Interview by Maria Sidelnikova exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

The executive director of the Russian-Israeli business council under the Russian Chamber of  Commerce and Industry, senior scientist of the Department of Israel and Jewish Communities Studies of the Institute of Oriental Sciences of the RAS, Dmitry Maryasis, told Vestnik Kavkaza about prospects of Russian-Israeli economic relations and Israeli contacts with the republics of the North and states of the South Caucasus.

-          Dmitry Alexandrovich, please discuss Israel’s initiative to establish a common trade area with Russia.

-          The desire has been declared, and the issue was considered on a political level two years ago. We haven’t discussed technical details of the possible trade area yet. The fact is that Israeli foreign economic policy is based on signing many foreign trade and foreign economic treaties. Israel has a treaty with MERKASOR in Latin America and agreements with Europe, Israel is actually an associative member of the European Union, an agreement on free trade in Southeast Asia. The list is long. For sure, this area seems to be interesting for Israel. There is a paradigm of foreign economic policy development; the question is whether it matches interests of both parties today. The question is difficult.

I think that signing of the additional treaty is better because any regulation, any understanding of the scheme gives impetus to development of the bilateral trade-economic relations. But I wouldn’t say that it will solve all problems in our bilateral relations. We should analyze the issue thoroughly. Russia has its own agenda; Russia should protect its economic interests; and as the level of our trade and economic cooperation is low, it would be sufficient to cooperate within the WTO.

-          What are the most promising spheres for cooperation?

-          Three year ago I wouldn’t have even mentioned the energetic sphere, yet today it is a very promising sphere from all points of view, and Israel is interested in it. Here we have a rare story when Russia can provide an incredibly qualitative expertise. While Israel had no gas and oil, they didn’t develop the sphere of production, distribution and trade. Russia has always been present at the market, and Russia is a leading gas exporter in the world. Israel has no such experts. They have to attract international partners, and Russia is a very beneficial partner in this case because Gazprom doesn’t depend on contracts with Arabic countries, unlike many international corporations. The other gas exporter is Qatar which has a certain attitude toward Israel. That’s why the Russian experience is interesting.

Agriculture is also promising. Israel is a recognized leader in agricultural technologies, and Israeli companies are working in Russia. We have seen an interesting project in the Russian-Israeli Center of Agricultural Technologies. One could see various agricultural technologies used in Russia in all directions – from fish breeding to crop farming, vegetable farming, and so on. Israel has a lot to offer in this sphere; on the other hand, Russia is a great market which needs such technologies. We have huge regions – the Krasnodar Territory, the Volgograd Region – which climatically resemble Israeli agricultural regions, and this could be very interesting.

I think the most promising cooperation is scientific and technological cooperation – innovations and joint projects. Today Russia wants to diversify economy. That’s what we want. Soviet scientific potential is still maintained in Russia. I read lectures in Omsk and Khabarovsk. There are talented young people who have their own projects. The cooperation can bring very interesting results for Russia and for the region in general. For example, Israel is an associative member of the European project, collider in CERN, and it is very interesting. So, I believe our economic future is in scientific and technological cooperation.

-          Are Israeli business interests presented in the South Caucasus and vice versa?

-          Israel actively cooperates with Russian republics in the Caucasus. An agricultural technology agreement was signed with the Chechen government a month and a half ago. Israel is present in the region both on a political and economic level.

Cooperation between Israel and Azerbaijan is intensive. Azerbaijan is a leader of the region, the richest country. There is political and economic cooperation between them, security cooperation. The region is important for Israel of course.

In the 1990s the region had nothing to offer Israel; on the other hand, there was no demand. Today Azerbaijan, a rather wealthy country which clearly understands its demands, is ready to pay. It is very interesting for Israel.

At a certain moment Israel had very intensive cooperation with Georgia, but ahead of the war of 2008, Russia asked Israel to stop providing Georgia with arms. Israel agreed with the demand. It worsened relations between Israel and Georgia. There was a very negative tendency in economic cooperation. Today the situation improves. However, Georgia is not an economically wealthy country. So, Georgian projects are smaller, but Israel plays a significant role in them.

A big role is played by Diasporas of Azerbaijani Jews in Israel and Georgian Jews in Israel. Of course, this cooperation is provided through separate channels – money is invested, personal contacts are used, as a common language is a big potential for approaching. Looking at the region, I see positive shifts in cooperation between Israel and the Caucasus.