November 7, 2010, Updated September 27, 2012

Israel and Britain signed a cooperation agreement in the field of cinema last week, following 10 years of intense negotiations.

According to the agreement, Israel will become a favorite filming location for British films, and production companies will receive financial incentives and tax benefits from Israel to shoot in the country.

According to the Foreign Ministry, parts of the next James Bond film may be shot in Israel.

The deal has significant financial potential, as the $8 billion British film industry is ranked third in its scope of production after the US and India.

UK filmmakers are already working on two films about the British Mandate period which may be filmed in Israel and a British delegation is slated to visit Israel in the coming months to discuss future collaborations.

The deal was signed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his British counterpart William Hague, who was visiting Israel. The signing took place after a decade of diplomatic efforts, against a backdrop of calls for a boycott of Israel from many UK cultural and academic establishments.

Israel’s Ambassador to Britain Ron Prosor, who played a major role in brokering the deal, said that achieving the agreement was “one of the important goals I set for myself.”

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