U.S. and Israel Announce Support for Additional Innovative Technologies

On March 15-16, 1999, Secretary William M. Daley and Israeli Minister of Industry and Trade, Natan Sharansky, co-chaired the sixth biannual meeting of the U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Commission (USISTC). The Commission agreed to allocate $5 million for joint biotechnology and environmental projects to be solicited through a call for proposals by the U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Foundation. Private sector companies participating in the new projects will match the funds.

Commission activities during the one-day March 16 meeting centered on progress reviews, discussions on joint venture support for enabling technologies and examination of future strategic directions. The participants agreed that harmonizing regulations and standards and serving as an information resource center are key roles for the Commission. The USISTC continues supporting valuable impediment reduction and infrastructure building programs to promote economic technological collaboration.

Specifically, the Commission agreed to support the Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) harmonization project involving joint U.S.-Israel training and workshops, and the Heart Knows No Borders paperless elimination project. The Commission also ratified the Executive Committee’s January recommendation to solicit request for proposals for the Next Generation Internet initiative. Significant business collaboration from this effort will be generated among U.S. and Israeli companies and academic consortia.