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Israel, Emirates establish joint R&D, tech investment fund

With the export of Israeli high tech surpassing the export of goods, the government invests in a joint fund with the Emirates for technologies and start-ups, and also supports investment funds for developing countries.
LED ground level lights installed to warn texting pedestrians before crossing the road are seen in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, Israel, March 12, 2019.

Israel’s foreign trade data show clear and sharp growth in all fields of high tech. According to the Israeli Economy Ministry, for the first time, the export of services has outpaced the export of goods. These services are in large part high tech exported to various countries in the form of programming, offensive and defensive cybertechnology, and more. More precisely, the greatest growth was seen in exports stemming from the sale of start-ups, which grew no less than 257%. The export of programming services grew by 25% and the export of research and development (R & D) services grew by 15%. 

Ohad Cohen, director of the Foreign Trade Administration at the Economy Ministry, told Al-Monitor that the growth is particularly impressive in the realm of cybertechnology and programming services, which today constitute one of the chief pillars of Israel’s economy. According to him, in 2015, exports related to online security were 12% of total Israeli exports, while today these amount to 24%, or $35 billion.

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