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With the veil of secrecy on the commercial ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel lifted, a delegation arrived in Dubai
Dubai:
If you had asked Israeli businessman Yehonatan Ben Hamozeg earlier this year where he would be launching his technology to save palm trees in October, there was no chance the UAE would have said.
But after a surprise US-backed normalization deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, the soft-spoken, gray-haired businessman found himself doing just that in a Dubai hotel last week.
Ben Hamozeg is the founder and CEO of Agrint, a company that uses seismic sensors to detect insects that eat (and destroy) palm trees from the inside.
He was one of 13 business leaders who joined a four-day trip to the United Arab Emirates organized by Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), a venture capital firm.
Before normalization, there were discreet links between the Gulf nation and Israel’s burgeoning high-tech sector.
But after the deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election on Tuesday, those ties have surfaced and are about to expand.
“We are learning, we are opening our eyes, friendships and personal ties are being formed,” said JVP founder Erel Margalit, who led the Israeli delegation.
Charismatic and outgoing, Margalit is one of Israel’s leading venture capitalists, having backed more than 150 tech startups.
He insisted that the UAE’s potential for Israel’s economy is enormous, both in terms of direct partnerships in the financial, technology and food sectors, as well as as a portal to Arab markets that are still isolated from the Jewish state.
“Israel can now work with the region instead of being closed to it. For us, it is a great opportunity,” he said.
“We want to use this advance to start a new chapter in the region.”
‘Out of the shadows’
With the veil of secrecy lifted on the commercial ties between the UAE and Israel, the delegation, which includes several Israeli and foreign journalists, arrived in Dubai by private jet and was greeted with kosher food and posters in Hebrew.
A Palestinian businessman from East Jerusalem, a former Mossad spymaster turned businessman, and an expert on desert crops, three men who worked with the United Arab Emirates for years, traveled alongside the 13 CEOs and were key players in the organization of meetings.
The group openly mingled with Emirati business leaders and government officials at a stylish hotel in Dubai’s financial district and throughout the city.
Along with networking events, some complicated by coronavirus restrictions, delegates held private meetings with potential partners, with sightseeing tours scattered between events.
Mohamad Mandeel, COO of Royal Strategic Partners of Abu Dhabi, cited a protein-rich chickpea powder made by Israeli firm InnovoPro to illustrate the potential for regional cooperation.
“If I take a Dutch company and say hummus to them, they will say: what the heck is this?” Said Mandeel, wearing the traditional white Emirati robe, using the Arabic word for chickpeas.
Israeli companies, he said, could be strong partners because they understand the Middle East, including the pursuit of food security in an often challenging agricultural environment.
They could also be a bridge to peace between nations.
“I always believe that the economy will drive politics,” he said. “So you move the economy and things will come after in a positive way.”
Before normalization, Israeli Ronen Yehoshua was already doing business in Dubai, but his cybersecurity company Morphisec was represented by a third party.
Now he can “step out of the shadows into the light,” he said.
For him, being in the United Arab Emirates also meant that he could finally discover the local market.
“Only when you get to a place can you understand better and more deeply,” he said.
Arshi Ayub Zaveri, CEO of Dubai-based Trust with Trade, said that blockchain technology developed by “the wonderful minds that are in Israel” marked an attractive opportunity.
“At the end of the day, we have been the traditional owners of assets, oil or any other commodity. We would like to see how we can tokenize that digitally in a suitable format,” he said.
“I am hopeful that we will see a time when it becomes normal for us to include each other’s businesses in our exchanges,” said Zaveri, also an adviser to the royal family.
Friends first, business later
As the Margalit delegation searched for business partners, it emphasized that agreements with the private sector were a proven method of solidifying peace between nations.
On the way to Dubai, he told the delegation: “You are the true emissaries of Israel.”
“I respect politicians for leading a process and reaching a peace agreement,” he said. “Now we have to bring the content.”
InnovoPro CEO Taly Nechushtan, whose product caught the eye of the Emirati Mandeel, said its powder, which can be used to make foods like vegan ice cream and burgers, is attractive in a world “looking for alternatives.”
Opening a plant in the United Arab Emirates could provide the domestic market with a sustainable protein, but also the opportunity to become a regional “production portal”, he said.
While Nechushtan’s whirlwind visit was packed with meetings, he said it was premature to talk about deals.
“We came here to make friends; business will continue,” he said. “We are not worried.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed)
