MOLDOVA SEEKS ISRAELI INVESTMENTS.

On a three-day visit to Israel, Moldovan president Petru Lucinschi and a government and business delegation conferred with Israeli president Ezer Weizman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli ministers and corporate executives in the agricultural and electronics sectors, and representatives of the large Bessarabian community, which played a prominent role in founding the state of Israel. The sides signed a package of economic agreements focusing on Israeli investment in Moldovan agriculture, technology transfers in irrigation and food processing, and consultation on industrial conversion. The Israeli side remarked on the optimal situation of Moldova’s Jewish community. (Flux, Basapress, June 23-25) Lucinschi’s and his cabinet’s efforts to attract foreign investments will come to naught if the Moldovan parliament continues blocking economic reforms promoted by the executive branch.

Armenian Parliamentary Leaders Disagree over Russia-Belarus Union.