Tel Aviv, 16 July 2013.- The Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Economy of Israel, Mr Avi Hasson, and the Chairman and CEO of Telefónica I+D, Carlos Domingo, in the presence of Secretary of State for Commerce, Government of Spain, Jaime García-Legaz that officially visits Israel this week, signed an important collaboration agreement today between Telefónica I+D and the Ministry of Industry of Israel to work together on researching and developing new technologies. This consolidates Telefónica’s commitment to working with the leaders who are currently leading the way in innovation, as is the case of Israel.
Specifically, through this agreement, the government of Israel will fund the activities of Israeli companies that work in collaboration with Telefónica I+D and it states that the two entities will collaborate to explore opportunities in innovation, research and development of new technologies. Similarly, it establishes bonds between Israeli start-ups and large corporations in the sector.
As Carlos Domingo stressed during the signing of the agreement, “we are extremely proud to collaborate with the start-up nation par excellence and this agreement will allow us to learn important lessons in how to convert a complex environment into an opportunity thanks to its enterprising culture and global vision.”
Furthermore, Yifat Alon-Perel, Economic and Innovation Attaché of Israel in the Embassy in Spain, said that “Telefónica and its integration with Israeli technology has been a priority and an important objective of this ministry. The executives’ visit to Israel and the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding is undoubtedly a significant milestone with Telefónica. We hope that it shows its results in the near future in joint projects with Israeli start-ups”.