The historic Abraham Accords have launched a dramatic new era of commercial opportunity in the Middle East. While prospects are brimming across a range of countries in the MENA region—including in Bahrain and Morocco, which have joined the regional normalization initiative—the match between Israel and the UAE, the two most advanced economies in the region, is particularly promising.

World-Class Tech Meets a World-Class Business Environment

In recent studies, Israel—the so-called “Startup Nation”—ranks first globally in per-capita venture-capital investment, second globally in per-capital R&D investment, and second globally in the number of startups. Many of the startups nurtured in this ecosystem have grown into cutting edge companies. Between 2010 and 2019, Israeli startups enjoyed exits worth over $100 billion. The NASDAQ exchange now lists more companies from Israel than from any country outside North America other than China. Israel is an elite hub of technological innovation with similarities to Silicon Valley; its technology involving water, agriculture, renewable energy, health care, life sciences, fintech, and cybersecurity, are expected to be of special interest in the UAE. Collaborations between Israeli and Emirati entities in more established industries such as construction, infrastructure, defense, and finance also hold promise.