19 technological co-operation agreements signed with EU companies

Mr. Moshe Nahum head of the foreign relation desk at the Israeli manufacturers association said in a press release that over the last two years 19 technological co-operation agreements were signed between Israeli and European companies.
 
The agreements were signed within the framework of the IRC project (INNOVATION RELAY CENTERS ).
The co-operation agreements are mainly in environment, water quality & sewage. biotechnology, drugs & medicines, packaging and green houses.
 
Mr. Nahum added that over the last 5 years some 800 business meetings took place between Israeli and European companies mainly in the fields of space research, transportation, medicine and security.
 
During this period some 100 seminars were held and 400 offers were made by Israeli firms to their European potential partners. The European side submitted some 1,100 co-operation offers to the Israeli side.
 
In 1995, the European Commission established the IRC network. From April 2000, it has consisted of 68 Innovation Relay Centres (IRCs) throughout Europe including the EU, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Rumania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland. These centres have been created in order to facilitate the transfer of innovative technologies to and from European companies or research departments. As a mover and shaker in innovation, the IRC network has become a leading European network for the promotion of technology partnerships and transfer mainly between small and medium-sized companies (SMEs).
 
The IRCs are innovation support service providers mainly hosted by public organisations such as university technology centres, chambers of commerce, regional development agencies or national innovation agencies. Most IRCs are set up as consortia. Each centre is staffed by personnel who have extensive knowledge of the technological and economic profile of the companies and regions they serve.