Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and his Swiss counterpart Ueli Maurer on Sept. 4, 2017. Photo: Twitter.

JNS.org – Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and his Swiss counterpart Ueli Maurer signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to increase bilateral cooperation in the financial services industry.

As part of the agreement, Israel and Switzerland plan to boost collaboration on a wide range of issues, including regulatory and supervisory cooperation, financial technology innovation and cooperation between financial institutions that set international standards in financial services.

“The Swiss economy is one of the strongest in the world, and the great interest they are showing in the Israeli economy and in the high-tech industry and our fintech testifies as to Israel’s strength in these fields,” Kahlon said during the signing ceremony.

Chief Economist Yoel Naveh noted that officials from the Israeli and Swiss Finance Ministries plan to hold annual meetings to further develop economic relations between the two countries.

Israel and Switzerland, “being small and developed economies, share many common themes,” he said. “I’m sure the annual meetings will foster mutual learning and strengthen the financial ties between the nations.”