Nevada and Israel signed a memorandum of understanding on water-use innovation, marking what is reportedly a first-of-its-kind collaboration agreement between a U.S. state and a Middle East country.

The deal—reached between Nevada’s WaterStart public-private joint venture and Israel’s National Technological Innovation Authority at Monday’s BusinessH2O Summit, a one-day conference in Las Vegas organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—paves the way for Israeli water technology companies to eventually set up research and production facilities in the notoriously arid state of Nevada.

“Our private sector needs to partner with water-advanced countries like Israel to adopt new technologies and best practices in water management, which will help create jobs and grow our economy,” said Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of international affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The Israeli-American Coalition for Action (IAC for Action), a non-profit that advocates to policymakers on behalf of the Israeli-American community, said the memorandum of understanding “provides new opportunities for cooperation that will benefit both Nevada and Israel by broadening and deepening research and development collaboration in the critical area of water management and conservation.”

“From our inception a year ago, the IAC for Action has been engaged in facilitating partnerships between Israel and state and local governments,” said IAC for Action Chairman Shawn Evenhaim. “We will continue to work in Nevada and around the country to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship by identifying opportunities for both Americans and Israelis to tap into each other’s tremendous wealth of innovation and expertise.”