Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom met yesterday morning with Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey at the home of the Swiss ambassador.
Calmy-Rey informed Shalom that she intends to issue invitations in the coming days to an international diplomatic conference at the senior official and ambassadorial level, to which 192 countries would be invited, including the Vatican.
The purpose of the conference, which is to take place in Geneva at the beginning of December, is to ratify the addition of Israel's Magen David Adom to the International Committee of the Red Cross as a life-saving organization.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this is an important achievement for Israel's many diplomatic efforts in recent years to gain recognition of Magen David Adom as a life-saving organization.
Shalom said that it is necessary to continue to act with determination and not surrender to the extortion of the Arab countries and Palestinian elements that are trying to impose all sorts of demands as a condition for their agreement to the Red Cross move.
Shalom spoke with his Swiss counterpart, who was en route to Lebanon, about the importance of Lebanese independence and the continuation of international pressure on Syria, a country that supports terrorism, so that it should cease its involvement in the internal affairs of Lebanon and Iraq.
Also at the meeting, Calmy-Rey reiterated her condemnation of Iran's statement against Israel.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on Tuesday, November 1, 2005