Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz announced the establishment of a new body called BIRAX the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership in Regenerative Medicine. The UK and Israel will each provide matching funding of up to 50,000 for the initial phase of BIRAXs work, and European Union funding will be sought by both countries for joint research programs in regenerative medicine. In addition, the frst annual meeting oI a newly formed UK-Israel Technology Council was held on March 14 in Lan- caster House in London, co-chaired by David Willetts and Israels Chief Scien- tist Avi Hasson. The council identifed digital technology, water technology, life sciences, creative industries and fnancial services as key sectors for the two coun- tries to focus on, where the UK and Israeli economies match each other particularly well. The Council is comprised of 35 high- ranking business leaders and senior of- fcials as well as senior executives Irom Virgin Media, Google, Alcatel Lucent, Amadeus Capital, NICE Systems, Pitango Venture Capital and other leading corpora- tions and investment funds. Silicon roundabout It is not news that the main business story of Israel these days is technology and a lot of it. Israel has more companies listed on the tech-heavy NASDAQ stock exchange in New York than any country outside of the US except for Canada and China. The start-up nation, with ever growing num- bers of young Israelis graduating each year from its top-notch universities and tech- savvy military units to a dizzying array of start-ups, has consistently been located among the leaders of the international technology pack. That leadership has been proven through all the major tech trends of the past decade and a half, from the earli- est Web chat programs to todays smart- phone apps and interactive media environ- ments. Rothschild Blvd. in Tel Aviv today hosts so many young technology start-ups that some are calling it Silicon Boule- vard, the local counterpart of Californias Silicon Valley. The UK is now developing Sili- con Roundabout, says Naomi Krieger, director of the UK-Israel Technologies Hub. Every advanced country today un- derstands that technology is essential for economic growth. In some measure, the British Embassys High Tech Hub initiative is an expression of admiration for what Is- rael has achieved in technology and a desire to mimic some oI its success in the feld. A technology center called Tech City in Lon- dons East End, bringing together some 200 start-ups, is being promoted by the British government as a magnet for early stage en- trepreneurs. Ambassador Gould believes there are good reasons for Israeli companies to part- ner with British companies and establish branches in the UK. For one, in compari- son to California, which is a full day and ten time zones away by aeroplane, Britain is almost on Israels doorstep. I know that the default option for Israeli tech entrepreneurs is to go straight across the Atlantic, Gould told the star-studded guests, who gathered at his residence to launch the hub last summer. Let me tell you why you should stop in London frst. Were close, practically in the same time zone, and a whole lot closer than Palo Alto. Britain offers you a great market, access to the whole of the European Union, and trad- ing links across the entire world. We offer skills in business development, sales and marketing that can help Israeli innovation go global. Eye-opener Krieger points to several British advan- tages for Israeli companies. The UK itself is a major hub, she says. It is a hub for Europe, for the English-speaking world, for the commonwealth, for media. Those are only some of the advantages. Not to men- tion being only fve hours away, the lan- guage, and a legal system that is similar to Israels. There are advantages that the U.S. cannot offer. Conversely, exposing British frms to Israels potential is also an eye-opener for some, showing off an Israel that may be different from the image the country enjoys in newspaper headlines on the Middle East confict. ReIerring to one oI the members of a British business delegation visiting Is- rael at the invitation of the high-tech hub recently, Krieger reports that she was told by the executive that she had met Israeli start-ups before but had no idea of the mag- nitude and the hotbed of innovation here. The executive, says Kreiger with a smile, was blown away by how much there is in one place. The high-tech hub places stress on fnd- ing synergies between Israeli and British companies, looking for opportunities for Israeli technology to partner with UK in- dustries, with each side bringing unique talents that complement each other. We are not interested in simple you buy, we sell stories, stresses Krieger. We are not handing out money, this is not a fund. We are providing a very important facilitation service for matching, collaboration and bridging gaps. New media Krieger herself is not British. She hails from New York. Before joining the Brit- ish Embassy staff, Krieger was Director of Strategy and Operations at the Taub Cen- ter for Social Policy Studies in Israel, and Executive Director of STRIVE Israel, a national organization dedicated to helping unemployed Israelis develop careers and fnancial independence. She gained expe- rience working with the Israeli high-tech sector after completing a masters degree in public policy at Harvard University, work- ing as an investment banker for Lehman Brothers helping Israeli companies to ac- cess global markets and conduct mergers and acquisitions. Krieger`s fve-person staII at the high- tech hub is still working on fnalizing the list oI technology felds on which it will Iocus, but it has already identifed several that will get prominent attention because of the synergistic possibilities for combin- ing Israeli technologies with what British companies can offer. New media is at the top of the list. New media means mobile apps, game apps, anything that bridges the creative world of content and broadcasting, ex- plains Krieger. New media is interest- ing for us because the UK is very strong in media and creative content, while Israel is very strong in technology for delivering content to customers. In addition to digital technology and tele- communications and life sciences, which includes bio-med, bio-technology and the pharmaceuticals industry, the British Em- BUSINESS The UK itself is a major hub. It is a hub for Europe, for the English- speaking world, for the commonwealth, for media