page_title: Israel–United Kingdom relations
section_title: Commercial relations
hierarchical_section_title: Israel–United Kingdom relations / Commercial relations
caption_attribution_description: עברית: תערוכת "הגמל המעופף" שנערכה בנמל תל אביב אחת למספר שנים.
context_page_description: Israel–United Kingdom relations, or Anglo-Israeli relations, are the diplomatic and commercial ties between the United Kingdom and Israel. The United Kingdom maintains an embassy in Tel Aviv and a consulate in Eilat; it also maintains a consulate-general in Jerusalem that represents Britain in that city and the Palestinian territories. Israel has an embassy and a consulate in London.
context_section_description: Annual bilateral trade exceeds US$3 billion and over 300 known Israeli companies are operating in Britain. While visiting Israel in November 2010, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague called UK-Israel science and business ties "one of the cornerstones of the relationship between Britain and Israel."
  In 2009, the United Kingdom's Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs issued new guidelines concerning labelling of goods imported from the West Bank. The new guidelines require labelling to clarify whether West Bank products originate from settlements or from the Palestinian economy. Israel's foreign ministry said that the UK was "catering to the demands of those whose ultimate goal is the boycott of Israeli products"; but this was denied by the UK government, which claimed that the aim of the new regulations was merely to allow consumers to choose for themselves what produce they buy.
  In 2011 the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Israel launched a new project aiming to facilitate economic and business ties between the U.K. and Israel. Dubbed the UK–Israel Technologies Hub, the initiative seeks also to identify opportunities among Israeli and Palestinian Arab entrepreneurs. One of the goals of the project is to encourage British companies to set up R&D facilities in Israel in order to tap Israel's skilled engineering base. Cleantech development is among the sectors the Technologies Hub targets for promoting British-Israeli partnerships.
  A 2011 White Paper on Trade and Investment for Growth issued by the government of the United Kingdom pointed to Israel as a pivotal strategic partner for Britain's future. Figures released early in 2012 showed that Israel was the United Kingdom's largest trade partner in the Middle East, with bilateral trade between the two nations amounting to £3.75 billion ($6 billion) in 2011 – up 34% from the preceding year. Matthew Gould, Britain's ambassador to Israel, pointed out that the figures demonstrated that the effect of boycott movements on trade between the UK and Israel was minuscule. He added that one of his goals was to bring more Israeli businesses to the UK.
  In 2011, the United Kingdom established a technology centre at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, known as the UK-Israel Tech Hub, which is the only such facility sponsored by a government at its embassy in the world, to encourage cooperation between Israeli and British high-tech companies.  Tech Hub was inaugurated by George Osborne, who served as Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer.  The centre has established the TexChange programme, which selected 15 Israeli start-ups to travel to London and gain experience in high-tech in London.  The programme also offers Israeli companies access to more markets in the United Kingdom and Europe.  Tech Hub has also brought British entrepreneurs to Israel to participate in Israel's high-tech scene.
caption: British pavilion at the Orient Fair, 1934
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