January 2015
EDI Begins Representation of Toronto’s Centennial College
Beginning January 1st, EDI will operate the Israel Office of Toronto’s Centennial College. Over the past 47 years, Centennial College has transformed itself from a local community college to a worldly institution with a presence in several emerging markets, including China, India, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and now Israel as well. They offer industry-recognized full- and part-time programs at four Toronto campuses. As a leader in internationalization, Centennial has done extensive work teaching international students. EDI’s Tali Frank Horwitz will be the director of the new program aimed at increasing the number of Israeli students enrolling at Centennial.
Indiana Gov. Pence Visits Israel
Indiana Governor Mike Pence made an official visit to Israel at the end of the year to meet with local political leaders as well as with Israeli companies interested in considering Indiana as a base for their US operations. He was joined by members of his family as well as by Victor smith, Indiana’s Secretary of Commerce, and Stephen Akard, Vice-President and General Counsel of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. While in Israel, he spoke at an “Invest in Indiana” seminar as well as at a luncheon for Israeli business leaders co-sponsored by the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce and the US Chamber of Commerce’s Israel Business Initiative. EDI coordinated the visit in its role as the regional representative of the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
EDI Manages Four Delegations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Four Weeks
During November-December, EDI, under contract to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs planned, coordinated and administered four consecutive week long visits of foreign delegations to Israel, including:
- Members of a think tank sponsored by the European Union
- Vietnamese university representatives
- Rectors from the Vatican’s Catholic University
- Academic delegation from the United Kingdom
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs invites various groups to come to Israel as part of their program to expose such groups to various aspects of Israeli society. Each group spends 4-5 working days in the country meeting with their professional counterparts in Israel.
EDI Participates in Annual Meeting of Worldwide Invest Hong Kong Representatives
EDI’s Jonathan Sternberg was in Hong Kong in early December to participate in the annual meeting of InvestHK’s worldwide representatives. Invest HK, the investment promotion arm of the Hong Kong SAR, recently notified EDI, after their traditional bi-annual tender process, that the company has been awarded a new contract for a second two year period. EDI started with Invest HK in January 2013 and has successfully met all of its goals for the first two year period, a rarity for new contractors working on behalf of InvestHK in foreign markets.
EDI Participates in Middle East Commercial Center Meeting in Washington
EDI President Sherwin Pomerantz was in Washington, DC in early December to participate in the US Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Middle East Commercial Center quarterly meeting. The Center, a virtual activity bringing together the business communities in Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, is the brainchild of the US Chamber of Commerce and Sherwin is a member of the Israel Coordinating Committee for the project.