The Chancellor has called for an increase to the "export of expertise and capital" from Israel into Britain.

George Osborne, speaking before he boarded a flight to Israel, made the comments to mark the launch of the British Embassy's newly-established UK-Israel High-Tech Hub.

Mr Osborne had been due to arrive in Israel earlier this week as part of a delegation from Britain's high-tech sector, but had his visit delayed by Eurozone crisis talks.

After arriving in Israel, he met the Governor of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer, and Yuval Steinitz, Israel's Finance Minister. He also held a roundtable discussion with some of the key figures in Israeli high-tech and listened to presentations from high-tech start-ups.

Mr Osborne said he was a huge supporter of the new high-tech hub and the initiative to increase ties between Britain and Israel

"Those ties are already very, very strong; there is a huge cultural social and economic synergy between the two," he said. "But I think we can do more to enhance the economic relationship. I want to increase exports from Britain to Israel and increase the export of expertise and capital into Britain."

He added: "Israel is an amazing place, an amazing achievement as a country but it's also an amazing economic achievement."

Mr Osborne, whose wife and children chose to spend the half term holiday touring Israel, flew to Ben Gurion on an ElAl flight. However despite being offered a seat in first class, the budget-conscious Chancellor chose to remain in economy.