India-Israel Sign MoU on Science & Technology Cooperation

• 06 May 2023

On 4^th May, 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Industrial Research and Development Cooperation was signed between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, and the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) of the Ministry of Defense of Israel.

• The collaboration through the MoU will be steered and the execution monitored by a Joint Steering Committee led by the heads of the CSIR and DDR&D for taking forward mutually benefiting Industrial and technology cooperation.

The salient points of the collaboration are:

• Knowledge-Sharing and Capacity-Building: The collaboration seeks to promote knowledge-sharing and capacity-building between Indian and Israeli scientists and researchers.
• Focus on High Technology Areas: The collaboration will focus on high technology areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Quantum tech and semiconductors, synthetic biology, etc.
• Industrial Sectors: The collaboration will cover various industrial sectors including Healthcare, Aerospace & Electronics Instrumentation, Civil, Infrastructure & Engineering, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Sustainable Energy including Energy Devices, Ecology, Environment, Earth & Ocean Sciences and Water, Mining, Minerals, Metals & Materials, Agriculture, Nutrition & Biotechnology.
• Hydrogen and Aerospace: Specific collaborations on Hydrogen and Aerospace currently under discussion between CSIR and DDR&D were briefed.
• Therapeutics: Specific collaboration on Therapeutics between CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) and M/s 101 Therapeutics for conducting clinical trials of a COVID-19 drug having enormous therapeutic potential was briefed.

The MoU is expected to strengthen the India-Israel relationship, which completed 30 years of successful diplomatic relations.