The Virginia-Israel Advisory Board (VIAB), as part of the Office of the Governor, is inviting 20 Virginia business leaders to visit Israel on June 17-18, 2002 for high-level business development meetings. Unlike other missions, which tend to place emphasis on group gatherings, this mission will focus on holding meetings at each individual company, where Virginia business representatives can meet onsite with a company's top management, one-on-one. The VIAB will work with Virginia companies to identify potential "business partners" from a database of 16,000+ Israeli companies.

"This is a first-of-its-kind mission, one focused on striking real business deals, and we expect to have incredible success with partnering Virginia business representatives with the right companies in Israel," said Ralph Robbins, VIAB’s Executive Director.

While this is the 4th Annual VITTS event, the June mission is expected to be one of the most successful ever because of the way it is being conducted and because of the types of business sectors being targeted, which will include high tech, military industries, and manufacturing, to name a few. The mission is an excellent opportunity for venture capital firms, legal companies and county development partnerships to forge new business relationships and explore new opportunities to work together. The VIAB will assist Virginia companies to identify strategic partners, new technologies, and other business connections.

"The current economic downturn has created tremendous opportunities," said Robbins, who recently returned from a planning trip to Israel, where he met with more than 50 companies. "New, cutting edge technology can be purchased for lower prices. Many Israeli defense contractors are looking for co-production partners in the U.S."

The June trip to Israel is part of VIAB's ongoing mission to promote commerce between Israel and Virginia. Last year, VIAB hosted a similar summit in Northern Virginia with the support of the Governor’s office, which turned out to be a huge success. Last year’s mission attracted more than 200 participating Israeli and U.S. technology companies, with attendance by then-governor James Gilmore, U.S. Senator George Allen, Israeli Ambassador David Ivry and then-lieutenant governor John Hager, who now serves as special assistant on terrorism preparedness for recently-elected Virginia Governor, Mark Warner.

Robbins sees this year's June mission to Israel as a tremendous reciprocal event to last year's Northern Virginia summit. While the format will be a little different, and held in Israel instead of the U.S., Robbins expects there will be a tremendous amount of interest from Virginia business leaders to travel to Israel to network and participate in real commerce opportunities.

And if there's any hesitation because of safety in Israel, Robbins sees that as a non-issue from his own first-hand experiences in travelling recently to Israel. '"When people ask me here in the U.S. 'Is Israel safe?’, I would reply it’s clear that the places we will visit are far from the flash points. Actually, I felt safer in Israel than I do walking the streets of New York."

Due to the planning required, the June mission will be limited to 20 companies/entities. Companies interested in joining the mission and/or who would like more information should contact Mr. Robbins at: vitts@viab.org.