The U.K. government said Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel on science and technology research projects with potential access to a $2.1 million fund.
The science ministers from both sides met in London for the MOU signing in Whitehall, according to a press statement from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It added that both the United Kingdom and Israel are committed to funding technologies like quantum.
George Freeman, MP and U.K. minister of state at DSIT, said Israel was prioritized for the research partnership because of its “world-leading approach to R&D.” Similar collaborations with Japan and Switzerland are also underway.
Responding to the MOU, Ofir Akunis, Israel’s minister of innovation, science and technology, noted that the collaboration will benefit the two countries’ scientific communities, economies and national security.
The UK-Israel R&D partnership follows the U.K.’s entry into a bespoke collaborative agreement with Horizon Europe, the European Union’s research and innovation funding program.
Israel is also an associate Horizon member, further enabling more efficient collaboration under the new MOU.