Israeli-British R&D Foundation Established

The Israeli Finance Ministry and the British Secretary of State for Trade & Industry announced in December 1998 the establishment of BRITECH, a $25 million joint Israeli-British technology investment fund. The fund aims to expedite joint ventures and strategic partnerships between cutting-edge Israeli and British companies, particularly in the spheres of telecommunications, biotechnology, software development and electronics. The fund will operate for an initial five years.

The fund intends to exploit the comparative advantages of both countries, particularly Israeli R&D and British international marketing prowess. BRITECH is modeled on the successful BIRD, BARD and CIIRDF prototypes, with Israel and Britain contributing equally with matching investments from the private sector. The launching of the fund followed the November 1998 signing of a memorandum of understanding between Israel and Britain on joint weapons research and information exchanges. Israel is Britain’s 28th largest export market and 3rd largest trading partner in the Middle East.