Today we celebrate the 74th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. This is a moment to reflect on and celebrate the remarkable achievements we have accomplished in such a short time. Over the past seven decades, Israel has faced significant national security challenges, and was able to overcome them to become a vibrant, democratic and technologically advanced country.
Since its establishment in 1948, this newborn state in the ancient Jewish homeland was confronted with persistent hostility from its neighbouring countries. Israel's security has been, and still is, threatened by border skirmishes, full-scale wars and countless terrorist attacks.
Despite the ongoing security threats, Israel is strongly committed to peace. The first shift in the Middle East came in the late 1970s and 1990s when Israel signed peace treaties with its neighbours, Egypt and Jordan. The 2020 Abraham Accords Peace Agreements further changed the paradigm in the Middle East and started a new chapter of peace and prosperity. The region is shifting in front of our eyes with the beginning of numerous new collaborative initiatives in almost every field -- tourism, business, technology and more.
However, Israel faces another existential threat, which is much less spoken of, and perhaps even less well known -- the scarcity of natural resources. At the early stages of our state, the country's independence relied on, among other challenges, the ability to feed its population. And, as elsewhere around the world, this threat has only intensified in the past decades, with the influence of the demographic growth and the effects of climate change.
Israel has always had to rely on the main resource the country possesses -- its human resources. The lack of water and fertile land led the country to invest and develop its large agriculture-technology and water-technology sectors. The combination of strong government commitment, a market-led approach and sophisticated research and development (R&D) are key components of Israel's success in moving towards its food and water self-sufficiency.
From the early days of statehood, there was a realisation that a master plan for water policy is required. A comprehensive water law was passed in parliament, making water resources controlled by the Water Commissioner. Since then, the Israeli government has been driving the water technology eco-system by promoting research, and funding large projects in areas of irrigation, water treatment, desalination plants, and much more. Special efforts were taken to address agriculture water usage; nearly all of the nation's domestic waste water is treated and reused for irrigation. Highly advanced irrigation methods are installed in the fields, while developing new crop strains, which are up to 10 times more efficient in water consumption.
Among the latest breakthroughs is the development in the field of animal protein alternatives. Products such as meat, milk, fish and eggs are being produced in laboratories using methods that emit nearly zero greenhouse gases, and which allow huge swaths of agricultural land, currently being used for livestock purposes, to be freed up for ecological restoration and reforestation. As if this is not enough, these technologies are also paving the way for increased global food security affected by an era of climate crisis.
Despite our tremendous achievements in the past seven decades, the worsening global climate crisis is an urgent challenge and a critical threat to countries around the world. Israel has taken strong actions in joining hands with the international community for a healthier, greener future.
Over the years, we have shared our extensive knowledge and experience through cooperation with academic institutes, private firms and governments around the world. This involves cooperation with Thailand as well. Throughout the years, more than 1,000 Thai professionals from different sectors have attended training programmes in Israel, in diverse fields including technology and innovation.
Israel has also reached significant breakthroughs in the field of climate innovations. The wide range of solutions which have been developed from our domestic necessity, can now assist in tackling the largest threat to human welfare -- climate change.
During these happy days of our independence celebrations, we are looking with great enthusiasm towards a promising future and more fruitful years to come for Israel as well as the world.
Ms Orna Sagiv is the Ambassador of Israel to Thailand.
