The Israeli government voted Sunday to approve a proposal by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology to establish a joint hi-tech investment fund with the United Arab Emirates.
This will be a binational industrial R&D fund with the United Arab Emirates, which will support requests for joint activities between Israeli and Emirati companies.
Like other international funds which exist today, the fund will provide a financial incentive to Israeli companies when it comes to the research & development of new technological products, or a substantial upgrade of existing technologies, as well as assistance in identifying foreign technological partners.
The fund’s support will enable access to international resources, knowledge, technology, and infrastructure which currently do not exist in Israel, and will also enable assistance to Israeli companies through recruitment of local partners, compliance with foreign regulations, and the creation of marketing, economic, or business advantages.
Israel will allocate a budget of 15 million NIS per year over ten years, and the United Arab Emirates will match this amount. As a result, the amount will reach 150 million NIS from the Israeli side over ten years, and a total of 300 million NIS.
The initiative to establish this fund, which on the Israeli side will be led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Science, the Innovation Authority, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy, also came up during the Prime Minister's visit to Abu Dhabi last December, and in his joint statement with the Crown Prince.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid: “Israel and the United Arab Emirates share a passion for the development of advanced technologies which will improve quality of life, the environment, and the economy. This bilateral R&D fund is the engine for starting this process in the private sector by encouraging companies, with an emphasis on SMEs, to come together to develop, manufacture, and market innovative technological products on a regional and global level. I congratulate and thank my colleague, Emirati Foreign Minister His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, for his support of this process from the beginning. I also thank Minister of Innovation, Science, & Technology Orit Farkash-Hacohen for her important work. Hi-tech is a strategic asset for our country, and it is crucial to protect and develop it.”
Minister of Innovation, Science, & Technology Orit Farkash-Hacohen: “I see great importance in the establishment of a mutual investment fund in the fields of hi-tech between the Government of Israel and the UAE. The UAE has traditionally invested in energy, infrastructure, and more, and because of this, this new fund will create a bridge which will facilitate Emirati investments in Israeli technologies in these areas and more. I welcome this important step between Israel and the UAE, and thank Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid and Israel’s Ambassador to the UAE, Amir Hayek. I also thank our colleagues, the Emirati ministers who supported this idea from the start.”
