Other State Department Archive Sites

The State Department web site below is a permanent electronic archive of information released online from January 1, 1997 to January 20, 2001. Please see www.state.gov for current material from the Department of State. Or visit http://2001-2009.state.gov for information from that period. Archive sites are not updated, so external links may no longer function. Contact us with any questions about finding information. NOTE: External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein.

U.S.-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation: Meeting of the Board of Governors Fact sheet released by the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State, July 19, 2000

On June 15, 2000 the Board of Governors of the U.S.-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation met in Washington, DC. The BIRD Foundation was established in 1977 to promote and support joint, non-defense research and development between the private sectors of the U.S. and Israel. BIRD funds the development and commercialization of high-tech projects in joint ventures between a U.S. and Israeli company. The Foundation is supported by an endowment of $110 million, contributed to equally by both governments. The BIRD Foundation is overseen by a joint Board of Governors, composed of three government officials from both the U.S. and Israel. The Department of State, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Department of the Treasury represent the U.S. at its twice a year meetings.

During its June 15 meeting the Board of Governors approved eight new projects totaling approximately $6,329,000. Three additional projects totaling approximately $1,865,000 were conditionally approved pending the resolution of questions raised during their technical review. (One of these conditionally approved projects has since been fully approved.) Of the projects approved by the Board, several were in the life sciences, including the development of a home device to measure and assist in the maintenance of eye pressure, important for people with glaucoma; and an advanced pharmaceutical for the treatment of hemophilia.

The Board of Governors of the BIRD Foundation agreed to meet in Jerusalem in December 2000 for its next regularly scheduled meeting. For more information about the U.S.-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation and its Board of Governors visit its website online at www.birdf.com.

[End of Document]

|| Environmental Diplomacy |
Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs |
U.S. Department of State | Disclaimers ||