Israel will offer China to set up a joint R&D fund

Mr. Ehud Ulmert Israeli minister for industry, trade and employment who will visit China at the end of June  will offer Chinese officials to set up a NIS 10 million, joint industrial research and development fund to support industrial co-operation between Israeli and Chinese companies.
 
Mr. Ulmert will lead the largest ever Israeli trade delegation to China.
 
Israel and China signed, back in 2000, a wide industrial co-operation agreement, however, due to budget difficulties the agreement has not yet come into force.
 
Mr. Ulmert said in a press conference that the main aim of the Government Chief Scientist is to re-activate the existing agreement by getting the Chinese to agree on the joint R&D fund.
The offer stipulates that both countries will annually devote us$1 million to the fund.
 
In addition to the joint R&D fund Mr. Ulmert will discuss with Chinese  officials the possibility of creating a triangular fund which will be financed by both governments and private enterprises involved in venture capital.
 
Dr. Eli Offer, government chief scientist said that the Chinese will invest in the next 4 years, until the opening of the Olympic Games billions of dollars in updating communication and IT infrastructure. Dr. Offer believes that such a joint fund will open up government tenders for Israeli companies. He added that in the long term Israeli companies will have an edge over other foreign companies in rural areas which are now beginning their development stages.