Israel Innovation Authority, State of Indiana Sign Deal To Support Agritech R&D Initiatives

May 9, 2018 | The Israel Innovation Authority and the state of Indiana announced they had signed an economic cooperation agreement this week to strengthen ties between Israel and Indiana and promote technological R&D initiatives and cooperation in agriculture and life science fields. The agreement was signed by Dr. Ami Applebaum, Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry and Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority and Eric Holcomb, the governor of the state of Indiana. The agreement, which was signed as part of the 20th Agritech Israel Conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, May 9, will be supported financially by the Israel Innovation Authority and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC.) Governor Holcomb was a guest of honor at the conference and is visiting Israel for the first time. “Hoosiers (Indiana residents) are proud of the rich friendship we’ve developed with the State of Israel, and the MOU we’ve signed today takes this partnership to the next level. Indiana and Israel are tech and agbioscience powerhouses, and there are abundant opportunities for academic exchanges, mutual investment and cross-collaboration between our two economies,” he said in a statement. Indiana’s economy is one of leading ones in the US, with a strong manufacturing industry. The state exports $100 million worth of goods per year to Israel and imports a similar amount.