JERUSALEM, May 31 (UPI) -- Israel and Finland unveiled a $13 million joint research-and-development fund this week during a trip to Israel by Finnish industrialists and investors.
The venture, called Finland Israel Technology, will "support joint projects in all industrial R&D fields," according to a report in the Israeli business newspaper Globes. Each country will provide half of the fund's budget, the report added.
Also during the delegation's visit Israeli Chief Scientist Eli Opper and Nokia Vice President of Technology Policy Erkki Ormala discussed the establishment of closer R&D ties between Israel and Nokia, the report said.
The Finnish cell-phone company is currently working with Israeli semiconductor company Provigent, which deals with wireless broadband transmission, according to the report.
A joint Swedish-Israeli R&D fund is currently in its fourth year and has financed 25 joint projects. Israeli-Finnish collaboration, initiated a year ago, "has already yielded results," the newspaper reported.
