Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Benjamin Ben-Eliezer have decided to increase Israel's participation in three US-Israeli binational funds: Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD-F), Binational Agricultural Research & Development Fund (BARD), and the Binational Science Foundation (BSF). The Ministry of Finance will allocate $40 million to the three funds and Chief Scientist Dr. Eli Opper will boost his office's funding for BIRD-F by $15 million.
The Ministries of Finance and Industry said that the funding was increased in recognition of the importance of R&D and technology innovation as key growth engines for developed countries. Another reason is the wish to continue encouraging collaboration on outstanding research between US and Israeli scientists, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs.
The decision was taken in the wake of the latest annual Joint Economic Development Group (JEDG) meeting. This year's meeting focused on expanding joint R&D and high-tech projects, in part by expanding current tools, such as BARD, BIRD, and the BSF. The US administration is also considering increasing funding for the three programs.
Steinitz said, "This is a significant and important step, both for strengthening economic and technological ties with the US, as well as capital inflows to Israeli innovation. We hope that following this measure, we'll find more opportunities for achieving these objectives."
Ben-Eliezer said, "Since they were established, these funds have supported hundreds of joint projects in the sciences, industry, and agriculture. Many of these projects have become success stories, and as such, they are an important pillar of our bilateral economic and industrial relations, and everything should be done to maintain and strengthen them."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 4, 2010
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