By Chessa Pae Faustino, StratCom Correspondent

The Israel Ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency Ilan Fluss, visited Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) for the first time on March 8.

In a welcome ceremony held at the MMSU Center for Flexible Learning, Ambassador Fluss thanked MMSU for the warm welcome. He highlighted the strong ties of Israel and the Philippines, resulting in strong collaborations in agriculture and education, among other sectors.

Through Israel’s initiatives to strengthen collaborations with the Philippines, MASHAV, an Israeli agency for International Development Cooperation, has offered various agricultural training courses and workshops to thousands of Filipino professionals.

MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis warmly welcomed Ambassador Fluss and shared how MMSU continuously expands its partnerships with other countries and organizations.

“MMSU, for years now, has actively pursued partnerships and linkages with national and international organizations and institutions to set forth a dynamic, collaborative, and culturally-diverse environment for our faculty and students, leading to building MMSU’s name in the global sphere”, she said.

Dr. Agrupis also acknowledged Israel as a center of religion and a dynamic society rooted in ancient traditions and history. 

“Israel is a distinguished nation which has earned the title of “The Start-Up Nation”, housing cutting-edge research and development in Science and Technology, Medicine, Agriculture, Security and virtually every other field in today’s modern world,” she added.

Ten students from the BS Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, BS in Agriculture, BS in Information Technology, and BS in Computer Science attended the event as MASHAV alumni.

Also present at the event were Dr. Nathaniel Alibuyog, vice president for research, development, and innovation; Dr. Julius Virgilio Manzano, vice president for planning and strategic foresight; Dr. Oscar Agpaoa, vice president for administration, finance, and business; Prof. Herdy Yumul, director of Strategic Communication; Dr. Sharona Barroga, dean of the college of engineering; Dr. Charlie Batin, dean of the college of agriculture, food, and sustainable development; Dr. Saturnina F. Nisperos, dean of the college of computing and information sciences; Dr. Dionisio Bucao, director of research, innovation and technology; Dr. Bjorn Santos, director of the National Bioenergy Research and Innovation Center (NBERIC); Dr. Mee Jay Domingo, director of internationalization, linkages and partnerships; faculty members; research staff; and students.

Before the welcome ceremony, Ambassador Fluss paid a courtesy call to the Office of the MMSU President. The MMSU visit is part of his itinerary in Ilocos Norte.

Born in Haifa, Israel, Ambassador Fluss assumed the role of the Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines in October 2021. He served as Deputy Head of MASHAV from 2009-2016. Ambassador Fluss has also represented Israel in various roles at the Israeli embassies in the Hague, Pretoria, and the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN in New York.