The agreement could be signed in a couple of months given Israel's interest, Vukelic told reporters after meeting Israeli Communications Minister Ariel Atias and a visit to an IT fair where the most important Israeli companies were presenting their products and services in this sector.
The purpose of the agreement, which Israel has signed with a large number of countries, is the establishment of a bilateral fund that would finance projects of Croatian and Israeli companies oriented towards the transfer of knowledge in the creation of new products and services.
Minister Atias confirmed that Israeli business people were interested in the Croatian market, notably in the areas of telecommunications and information technology, where Israel is a leading world power.
Vukelic said that one of the leading Israeli companies in that sector, RAD Data Communications, had demonstrated interest in doing business with Croatia.
Israeli representatives proposed setting up a cluster of Israeli companies interested in doing business with Croatia, Vukelic said.
He went on to say that Croatian water producers were interested in exporting their products to Israel as well as in importing agricultural produce and fruit from Israel.
Every year, bilateral trade records a two digit growth, but it is still insufficient, with the export-import ratio being to Israel's advantage, except in the shipbuilding industry.
Croatian exports to Israel in the first half of this year amounted to a mere USD2.6 million, while imports from Israel amounted to 12.7 million.
Croatian shipbuilders have a good cooperation with Israeli clients. The shipyard Uljanik from Pula alone is currently building ships for the Israeli market worth USD300 million.
Earlier in the day, Vukelic attended a prime ministerial conference on export and international economic cooperation, a traditional presentation of Israel's economy at which the country is presenting itself as an exporter and looking for new partners for Israeli investors.