ISRAELI Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Zion Evrony, toured the Premier County last week to both boost business ties and dispel what he says are the sometimes negative impressions held about his home country.

Mr Evrony told the Tipperary Star he was touched by the warmth and hospitality displayed by residents of Thurles and Clonmel, "proving once again what a welcoming nation the Irish are".

During his tenure as Ambassador, Mr Evrony decided to visit every county of Ireland. "The main goal of my visit to Tipperary was to bridge the gap between Israel’s image and its reality, as well as to promote tourism and trade between our two countries."

"In Tipperary, I had the pleasure of meeting and engaging with a wide variety of public figures, academics, journalists and business people. I met with the Mayor of Thurles, Cllr. Evelyn Nevin, the Mayor of Clonmel, Cllr. Denis Dunne, Brian Cleary, CEO of Clonmel Chamber of Commerce and Tina Mulhearne, President of Clonmel Chamber of Commerce, and with Michael O’Connell and Professor Gary Prosser, Chief Executive and Director of Development respectively of the Tipperary Institute. I was also interviewed on Tipp FM Radio, and had a very pleasant visit to the Bulmers cider plant.

"My visit to Tipperary was primarily to promote and encourage trade and tourism links between this region and Israel. Currently, the value of bilateral trade between our two countries stands in excess of E300m, most of it Irish exports to Israel. "Many Irish jobs are reliant on continued trade with, and investment from, Israel. I hope that the links between our countries in terms of in tourism, trade, investment and job-creation grow even stronger in the future," added Mr Evrony.

Ireland and Israel are both small, open, high tech economies dependant upon exports.

Great potential exists for Tipperary to boost its business links with Israel, particularly in the area of pharmaceuticals, added Mr Evrony. "Tipperary, the land of the Golden Vale has many similarities with Israel, the land of Milk and Honey." "Tipperary’s economy is significantly oriented around the pharmaceutical industry; Israel is one of the biggest pharmaceutical economies in the world per head of population and the Israeli TEVA plant employs hundreds of people in Ireland alone. I see great potential in increasing Irish-Israeli trade and investment to our mutual benefit, and Tipperary because of its strong pharmaceutical-chemical base is well placed to be at the forefront of this."

The Embassy in Dublin is always willing to facilitate Tipperary business people, entrepreneurs and others who may have an interest in visiting Israel or discovering more about the Israeli economy.

"We are looking forward to seeing more Irish tourists from Tipperary visiting the holy historic sites in Israel. Moreover, in addition to the religious sites, we have miles of beautiful beaches, excellent hotels, and lots of sunshine," concluded Mr Evrony.