FM Ashkenazi Meets With British Minister Gove, Discuss Travel Corridor

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi met Tuesday at the Foreign Ministry in Yerushalayim with British Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove, who was in Israel for a short working visit. Minister Gove is also responsible for the U.K. government’s response to the coronavirus.

During the meeting, the ministers discussed cooperation between the United Kingdom and Israel in the fight against the coronavirus and the possibility of creating a “green travel corridor” between the countries in light of the great progress made in Israel and the United Kingdom in their respective vaccination campaigns. Ashkenazi said, “The fight against the coronavirus is a challenge facing the entire world. After addressing the medical and health challenges, we must find ways to get the economy back on track as quickly as possible. We will promote, together with the U.K., mutual recognition of vaccines in order to allow tourists and business people from both countries to safely return to their routines.”

The ministers also discussed bilateral and regional issues, with the main issue being Iran’s malign activity. Foreign Minister Ashkenazi asked Minister Gove to convey Israel’s appreciation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s clear statement expressing his unequivocal opposition to the ICC’s decision to open an investigation against Israel. “Iran is undermining stability in the entire Middle East and the international community must act to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability. Not today and not in the future.