Increased Israeli-German Cooperation Boosts High-tech Innovation - Inaugural Bilateral Conference in Tel Aviv

TEL AVIV and BERLIN - German-Israeli cooperation brings together two complementary approaches to the advancement of commercialization of tomorrow’s technologies. Germany Trade & Invest, the Israeli-German Chamber of Commerce, and several partners will be hosting the 1st Israeli-German Conference on the commercialization of future technologies in Tel Aviv on July 6, 2009. The event is a response to the high level of Israeli interest in German high-tech R&D.

There are currently over 250 Israeli companies with subsidiaries in Germany, a number of them in Eastern Germany. Companies are drawn to Eastern Germany for a number of reasons. Financial support from the government and private investment in the region have created a world-class high-tech business location that is well positioned within the European market, but maintains the low costs and high growth potential of Eastern Europe. From 2005 to 2007, over 80 percent of high-tech companies in Eastern Germany reported product innovation, while over 75 percent innovated in terms of production processes.

Germany, especially in the Eastern federal states, boasts a high concentration of high-tech companies and R&D institutes. Environmental technologies, renewable energies, and medical technologies are all thriving in the region. These industries, through their technological advancements, are ensuring Germany’s competitiveness in the current economic downturn.

One example of successful commercialization of technologies can be witnessed in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the federal state located on the Baltic coast. Here plasma technology has achieved commercial success due a strong research network. This network includes the world-renowned Leibniz Association, a German R&D giant with 86 member institutions and an annual budget that exceeds EUR 1 billion. Leibniz President Ernst Theodor Rietschel will be participating in the panel discussion in Tel Aviv.

Peter Alltschekow, Director of Projects Eastern Germany for Germany Trade & Invest, stated: “With the 1st Israeli-German Conference we are pleased to mark such a positive development in the cooperation between these two countries in such an important field. Eastern Germany has established itself as a cutting-edge knowledge and research center for high-tech companies and we look forward to welcoming further Israeli investors in the region.”

Grisha Alroi-Arloser, CEO of the Israeli-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce based in Tel Aviv, confirmed the potential available through increased cooperation: “Israeli high-tech is extremely innovative. Israelis are taught to be fast and to improvise. Germany offers the thoroughness and engineering accuracy that has a complementary effect. If they take from each what each is best at, they’ll get the world’s best solutions.”

Partners for the event include Technion, Yissum, and Deutsche Telekom Research Laboratories. German Ambassador to Israel Harald Kindermann will be addressing conference participants, while panel discussions include representatives from companies, investment promotion agencies, and research institutions based in both countries. Participants in the panel discussion will highlight the benefits of further engagement in Eastern Germany.

Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities in the German market. It provides information on foreign trade to German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.

Media Contact: Eva Henkel, Phone: +49-30-200099-173, Fax: +49-30-200099-111, Email: eva.henkel@gtai.com.

Source: Germany Trade and Invest

Media Contact: Eva Henkel, Phone: +49-30-200099-173, Fax: +49-30-200099-111, Email: eva.henkel at gtai.com.