San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro led a five-day mission to Israel this week, aimed at improving economic relations between the seventh largest US city and Israel.
The delegation from the Alamo City included Castro, Mauli Agrawal, dean of The University of Texas at San Antonio College of Engineering, BioMed SA President Ann Stevens, as well as other business and academic representatives.
The San Antonio delegation signed a memorandum of intent with BioJerusalem to begin building relationships to benefit the biomedical sectors of both regions.
“This agreement with Jerusalem continues a long San Antonio tradition of forging mutually beneficial relationships with international cities,” Castro said. “By sharing the intellectual capital each city possesses in the biomedical sector, we are each positioning ourselves for further innovation and economic growth.”
Castro is set to sign another agreement –on BioMed and clean-tech projects– with Tel Aviv.
The San Antonio delegation toured Israel’s popular tourist sites, visited high-tech centers, and also met with a handful of dignitaries including President Shimon Peres, Minister of National Infrastructures Uzi Landau and Dr. Shaul Freirich, Deputy Chief Scientist.