In October last year, a new Minister for Economic Affairs, Daniel Kolbar , was assigned at the Israeli Embassy in Japan. Before arriving in Japan Mr. Kolbar was in charge of bilateral trade agreements between Israel and many countries, and from 2013 to 2017 he worked as head of the Economic and trade Mission at the Embassy of Israel in Brazil. Coming to Japan was one of his goals, and by this inauguration he achieved this goal. We spoke with Mr.Kolbar on his career, and his ambitions for the future.
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Learning management in Switzerland
Mr. Kolbar received his international hospitality management degree from ECOLE HOTELIERE DE LAUSANNE(EHL) in Switzerland. We asked how Mr.Kolbar’s studies in the field of hospitality management led him to eventually becoming a diplomat.
“With the rapid growth of hotel chains around the world, the implementation of accounting, finance, marketing, HR, and management became essential. Although the focus of my studies were on hotels, or management of services in general, the skills I learned were business administration.
Personally, I had interest in the hotel business since I was 13 years old, therefore I've studied at EHL, but many students did not have interest in the hotel industry, and they came to study business. Many alumni ended up pursuing different fields like real estate, finance etc.“
An important aspect of the hotel management industry that interested Mr.Kolbar was working with people from all over the world.
“I actually worked at hotels in Sydney , Thailand, Spain etc. I enjoyed working with coworkers and customers from so many different backgrounds. My time there exposed me to a wide variety of cultures. This helped me with my current job as well, as I was able to work with so many people, including people from Japan.“
“There are many similarities between working in the international service industry and working at the embassy. Just like providing service to customers who stay at hotels, at the embassy you provide services to Israeli and Japanese companies, supporting the connection between them. For both of these jobs, skills like understanding your customers' needs, and understanding international and foreign cultures are essential to succeeding.
For both professions, the ultimate goal is to add value and provide better service.”
“The transition from the hotel business to the embassy was not an immediate one. I returned to Israel from Australia in 2008, and took a 2-years master’s course for diplomacy at Tel Aviv university. I initially did not plan on working for a government agency, but unexpectedly around the end of my master's course, I discovered the opportunity to apply for the Israeli Ministry of Economy's Cadet course.“
The Cadet course is a recruitment program that opens every two years, where 12 people are selected from about 3,000 applicants. The selected people take 3-month intensive training followed by 3-year on the job training as Cadet. After these training, they are given missions and dispatched to the business capitals of the world.
“I was planning on going to Japan, but Japan is not one of the countries you can go to in your first assignment as Japan is the third largest economy in the world and we only have one Economic Mission covering the entire country. In the US we have five teams, in China we have six teams, in India we have three, in Germany and Brazil there are two. So the position requires a lot of work, but it is an amazing opportunity.
My first assignment was Brazil, and after gaining experience there I was able to come to Japan.”
4 and a half years of great experience in Brazil
“The Israeli Embassy in Brazil is in Brasilia , but I got the chance to open a new office of the Economic trade mission in Rio de Janeiro. It was like creating a startup. Looking for our office space, negotiating the rent and other contracts, renovating, recruiting and training team members and building a new network. Everything started from scratch.”
“Brazilians are very warm people, working with them together was a great experience. More than anything , during my post there were 2 mega events . Olympic Games and World Cup.
The Olympics and World Cup were great opportunities for me to support Israeli companies' ventures around the events, as well as their partnership with Brazilian companies. People from all over the world came to Brazil to support their team, it was a great atmosphere.
I also went cheering in the actual games, and also saw with my own eyes the moments when Israel won two bronze medals in judo. It felt amazing to witness history.”
Israel is strong in fertilizer exports
We also asked Daniel Kolbar about the economic trade mission of Israel as well as the products that brought them the most business. Although it was no surprise that technology and IT were the main exports, he told us that chemical products are also in high demand. Specifically with Brazil.
“About 60% of the exports of goods from Israel to Brazil are chemical products, including fertilizers. We, Israel, have both potassium and phosphorus which are the main ingredients of fertilizers. Because of this, Israel exports a large amount of fertilizers. Brazil needs a great amount of fertilizers because their main export products are foods such as soybeans and grains. Israel also exports pesticides and pharmaceutical products. “
Although the exports of chemical and agricultural products are highly beneficial, and also involves innovation, Daniel also wishes to further increase the trade from Israel through incorporating innovative technological products.
“In Brazil we working on promoting the exports of innovative technologies such as medical devices, telecom, security devices, and agri-devices. I personally focused on digital health, technologies for oil & gas sector and cyber.“
Trading and business with Brazil has developed dramatically thanks to the Free Trade Agreement(FTA) between both of the countries.
“We have an FTA between Israel and MERCOSUR(Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay) and this is the key to promote trade. The FTA Agreement is force since 2010 and custom duties have gradually decreased every year since then. Now, almost all of the exports from Israel to Brazil are tax-free. Israel has a great advantage because Brazil’s import tax is relatively high and Brazil doesn't have other FTAs outside Latin America(except for Egypt).”
Because of the massive benefits that come with the FTA, Daniel is highly motivated to promote more FTA’s with other countries to create mutually beneficial relationships around the world. As a diplomat stationed in Japan, Daniel hopes that the two countries will have an FTA and also that the people of Japan will open up to Israel and its culture to promote more understanding and respect between both countries.
Written by Hitoshi Arai
Translated by ISRAERU Editor
