Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Expo world's fair is "a testament to Italy's success". "Expo is a testament to Italy's success and we are happy to have been among the first to commit to it," he said after touring the Universal Exposition amid tight security Thursday. "The fact that we are here is proof that we defeated the Malthusian theory of population, which said that humanity would be annihilated because of the disparity between food and population," Netanyahu said in reference to 18th-century English cleric and scholar Thomas Robert Malthus.
"Israel is a living example that this is not true," the Israeli premier continued. "On the contrary, thanks to its know-how, Israel developed an agricultural system that allowed its population to grow ten-fold since its foundation". Science and technology can defeat the desert and hunger, he said.
"Israel pioneered irrigation sciences and has made great strides in the past 70 years, to the point where we recycle 80% of the water we use," Netanyahu said.
Israel is ready to share its knowledge "with anyone in the world" and Expo can represent a good starting point, he said. Netanyahu added that Italy and Israel have developed cooperation projects with only one African country, Senegal, and called for such cooperation to be extended to more states. "Israel's science is stronger than any boycott," he said. "People change their ways of life and habits and improve their living standards because of Israeli inventions and we do this all over the world...this is stronger than any boycott". Netanyahu said this is one of the main topics he intends to address in his meeting with Premier Matteo Renzi, Saturday in Florence.
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