UAE establishes $10 billion Israel investment fund

Agencies | Jerusalem

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A $10 billion fund has been established by the United Arab Emirates, aimed at investing in specific sectors throughout Israel, including space, healthcare, water, manufacturing, energy and agricultural technology, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Thursday.

The fund is the result of a phone call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

In an interview to Radio Haifa's Eli Levi, Netanyahu credited the establishment of the fund, the hefty promise of $10 billion, to "the Sheikh's belief in my economic leadership."

He added that this fund will help jump-start the Israeli economy as the country emerges from the economic throes of the coronavirus.

This is the latest initiative resulting from the normalization of ties established by Abraham Accords.

The ties developed between Israel and the UAE have brought about a handful of memorandums of understanding (MoUs), business agreements and investments. UAE Ambassador Mohamed Al Khaja has been holding meetings with top ministers throughout the Israeli government, and economic ties have increased in the wake of important technology and defence conferences in the Gulf.

Netanyahu addressed his recently cancelled trip to the UAE, which was blocked by Jordan, calling it a "misunderstanding."

The US-UAE Business Council is key to building commercial ties and increasing business opportunities between the US and the United Arab Emirates.

The council was formed in 2006 and 2007 to create a platform to promulgate reliable information about the business relationship in response to the widely inaccurate stories coming out at the time.