Representatives of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Enegry attends a virtual board meeting of Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation with Israeli counterpart at InterContinental Seoul Monday. (Yonhap)
South Korea and Israel said Monday they plan to speed up joint research and development projects to cope with the changing business environment amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement came after the two countries announced earlier this year that they will increase contributions to the Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation. The foundation kicked off in 2001 to promote bilateral technology exchanges.
In May, South Korea and Israel vowed to each disburse $4 million annually for the foundation, which is double the previous annual budget of $2 million. On the back of such efforts, the foundation on Monday decided to fund two new projects, namely the development of AI-based ultrasound self-diagnostic devices and a new type of medical treatment based on genes.
The foundation also vowed to raise the ceiling on the amount of grant provided for a single project to $1.5 million from the previous $1 million.
South Korea and Israel decided to provide up to $3 million for projects that are deemed strategically crucial, the foundation added. (Yonhap)