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Viewing cable 06TELAVIV689, ISRAELI MINISTER OF HEALTH ON IPR ISSUES,

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06TELAVIV689 2006-02-16 06:18 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Tel Aviv
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000689 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR OES/IHA, OES/PCI, NEA/IPA, NEA/RA AND EB/IPE 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR: ESAUMS 
HHS FOR OGHA: JCOURY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO ETRD KIPR PREL SENV KPAL KWBG IS ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY GOI EXTERNAL ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS
SUBJECT: ISRAELI MINISTER OF HEALTH ON IPR ISSUES, 
COOPERATION WITH NEIGHBORS 
 
REF: TANSEY/COURY 2/8 TELECON 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  The Ambassador raised intellectual 
property concerns with newly appointed Health Minister Yaakov 
Edery.  Edery told the Ambassador that he is working to 
establish a "green line" system for FDA-approved 
pharmaceuticals.  The MOH is looking to renew its cooperative 
agreement with U.S. DHHS.  Speaking personally, Edery said he 
believed that health cooperation with the Palestinian 
Authority (PA) should continue despite the Hamas 
parliamentary victory.  Edery said the GOI would support PA 
President Abbas in the interim period preceding formation of 
a new Hamas-led government.  Edery is also currently Minister 
for Development of the Negev and Galilee.  The Ambassador 
suggested that U.S. technical agencies may be able to provide 
useful expertise towards the GOI's development plans.  Edery 
expects Shimon Peres to resume charge of the Negev-Galilee 
portfolio following the upcoming Israeli elections.  End 
summary. 
 
2. (SBU) The Ambassador met with Minister Yaacov Edery 
February 9.  Edery was appointed as Minister of Health and 
Minister for Development of the Negev and Galilee in late 
January.  The Ambassador noted that the U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services shared MOH's interest in renewing 
their cooperative agreement (Ref).  He expressed appreciation 
for the responsiveness of MOH to the Embassy's questions 
about Israel's avian influenza preparations and the status of 
suspected cases.  Edery said that the GOI had good 
cooperation with its Palestinian and Jordanian neighbors on 
avian influenza.  He said he and his staff were also seeking 
ways to communicate with Lebanon and Syria on AI concerns. 
He noted the firm Roche had not given any Israeli firms 
permission to produce Tamiflu. 
 
3. (SBU) Raising IPR issues, the Ambassador asked about the 
status of import licenses for American producers of food 
supplements and herbal products and whether the Ministry was 
receiving many requests to register new drugs following the 
adoption of marketing exclusivity legislation in 2005.  Edery 
said that intellectual property protection was important to 
him personally, and volunteered that he had noticed some 
"absurd bottlenecks" since taking charge of MOH.  He said 
that he wanted to establish a "green line" for drugs that had 
been certified by U.S. FDA or its EU counterpart.  He agreed 
with the Ambassador's points that greater competition would 
expand treatment options and help to lower costs to 
consumers.  The Minister promised to provide written reports 
on the processing of import licenses and drug registrations, 
and requested the Embassy's support for the "green line" 
initiative.  He also said that he wanted to retain the 
Standards Institute as a public entity to protect IPR and 
resolve bottlenecks.  He noted that the Finance Ministry was 
in favor of privatization.   The Ambassador welcomed Edery's 
support on IPR, noting that the Special 301 review would take 
place in the coming months. 
 
4. (SBU) The Ambassador asked Edery for his assessment of the 
likely effect of the Hamas election victory on 
Israeli-Palestinian cooperation on health concerns, including 
AI and cancer.  Edery replied that the MOH had "always 
cooperated (in this sector) regardless of politics."  His 
personal view was that cooperation should continue.  He 
expressed surprise at the extent of the Hamas electoral 
success, but not at Fatah's poor showing, which he attributed 
to "corruption from all directions."  Edery rued what he 
termed the absence of sufficient EU and PA supervision of 
financial resources, "most of which went to private 
individuals."  If Hamas takes charge of the PA government, 
Edery recommends that donors fund projects directly, rather 
than through the PA.  He expressed support for President 
Bush's stated position on Hamas, and said "we can't do 
anything with a group that will (take over) Tel Aviv, Haifa 
(Edery's hometown) or Akko."  He said the GOI would support 
President Abbas with all possible assistance during the 
interim period preceding the formation of a Hamas-led 
government despite the attendant difficulty of doing so.  "We 
want Abu Mazen to carry out what he says he will do.  If he 
continues (in that direction), we will help him."  Edery 
assessed, however, that President Abbas "wants to do many 
things, but can't do them."  The Ambassador noted that most 
USG assistance went to specific projects carried out by 
NGO's, and reiterated U.S. policy on Hamas. 
 
5. (SBU) On the subject of Negev-Galilee development, Edery 
repeatedly implied that he was holding the fort until Shimon 
Peres could resume charge of that portfolio.  Edery called 
Negev-Galilee "the future of the State of Israel" because it 
would allow Israel to continue to develop and to welcome more 
Jewish immigrants.  The Ambassador cited the utility of 
public-private partnerships in developing the regions and 
suggested that the GOI raise money through investment 
vehicles in addition to public funds.  Noting the recent 
visit by a U.S. EPA team to advise on the Ramat Hovav 
hazardous waste disposal site, the Ambassador said it could 
be possible to focus some of our bilateral cooperation on key 
regional development issues. 
 
********************************************* ******************** 
Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website. 
********************************************* ******************** 
JONES