The 17th meeting of the Italy-Israel Mixed Commission was held at the Farnesina on 21 June 2017. The meeting was organised by the Office IX of the Directorate General for Economic and Cultural Promotion and Innovation (DGSP) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) as part of the Cooperation Agreement on Science, Technology and Industry that has been in force between the two Countries since 2002.
The meeting opened with remarks by Vincenzo De Luca, Director General for Economic and Cultural Promotion and Innovation (MAECI) and by Ofer Sachs, Israeli Ambassador in Rome.
Fabrizio Nicoletti, Central Director for Innovation and Research – DGSP (MAECI) and Aharon Aharon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Israel Innovation Authority, moderated the two delegations’ working sessions. After having decided the winners of the call for industrial projects, the Parties expressed their intention to enter into a new cooperation agreement within the framework of the 2002 Cooperation Agreement, in order to promote new start-ups between the two Countries.
The Cooperation Agreement for Science, Technology and Industry between Italy and Israel has revealed to be a formidable tool through which to develop relations between the two Countries in the field of industrial research and development. The funds made available have financed 184 projects, of which 126 for industrial research and development and 58 for basic research by research Universities and Agencies. For 2016 alone, Italian funds for academic and industrial projects amounted to € 1,504,766. The funds allocated to joint laboratories amounted to roughly € 350,000.
For Italy, the Agreement constitutes an important instrument through which to intensify cooperation with a Country that ranks among the world’s leaders in R&D and innovation spending. In 2016, the Agreement also made it possible to organise numerous Italian-Israeli conferences, seminars and workshops on an extremely broad range of scientific matters.
During the meeting, participants decided the winners of the 2017 call for scientific subjects and the subject matter for the 2018 competition (marine biology, mariculture and the physics of complex systems). Participants also evaluated the effectiveness of the activities carried out by Joint Laboratories already operating in the sectors of neuroscience, solar energy, public health, and cybersecurity. For 2017, Italy and Israel have decided to finance two new laboratories – one in the field of advanced materials and another in medical robotics. A third one will open in 2018 and it will focus on performing scientific experiments on microgravity. The Commission also evaluated the candidacies for the “Rita Levi-Montalcini” Prize 2017, which will enable an eminent Israeli researcher to spend a period in Italy to teach and study with a group of Italian researchers. The Commission also chose the theme for the call for proposals for 2018: analytical chemistry.
The Italian and Israeli delegations convened in the morning to discuss scientific issues, and were moderated by Alessandra Pastorelli, Chief of Office IX of the DGSP (MAECI), and by Alexander Bligh, Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in an effort to take stock of the scientific cooperation currently ongoing between the two Countries.