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UAE, Israel Cooperation on Space, Hi-Tech Seen to be ‘Immediate’

UAE, Israel Cooperation on Space, Hi-Tech Seen to be ‘Immediate’

Israel is looking forward to cooperating with the United Arab Emirates on business fronts including commercial space and hi-tech, according to Israel’s Minister for Science and Technology.

“The timelines are quite immediate,” Izhar Shay said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “We now want to leverage those existing relationships and take them to the next steps,” he said, referring to quiet ties already in place.

The UAE announced last week that it’s moving toward normalizing relations with Israel, joining Egypt and Jordan as the only Arab countries to do so.

Israel is already “aware of a good number of potential investors” in hi-tech, innovation, agro-tech, artificial intelligence among other sectors, Shay said. “We very much look forward to seeing involvement of Emirati investors in the Israeli economy.”

The minister also said:

  • “The infrastructure is there for the commercial engagements for the sharing of know-how and mutual efforts, so we already are aware of a good number of efforts on the various commercial fronts that can take both nations into mutual developments and cooperation.”
  • “We are looking into incentive for international companies that may want to place their R&D centers here in Israel.”
  • “Over here we do want to use our existing experience in sharing this vast amount of intellectual property with our new friends in the Emirates.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.