In a changing Middle East, Abraham Accords will usher in new era for technology
Collaboration in the form of partnerships and joint ventures around technology between Israel and the United Arab Emirates could be indicative of the wider shift expected in a post-Abraham Accords Middle East.
The common threat of Iran, a shared concern over Turkish aggression in the region and the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) insistence that its decision to normalize ties with Israel prevented annexation in the West Bank are all factors seen as contributing to the signing of the Abraham Accords Aug. 13. To that list one can also add desert farms.
“We are seeing a lot of investments coming from the UAE in agricultural infrastructure and agritech,” Ofer Sachs, CEO of Herzog Strategic Group and former director general of the Israeli Export Institute, told Al-Monitor.
Food security is a major concern for the UAE, which imports over 90% of its food needs, said Ibrahim al-Assil, a former Dubai-based consultant and senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. “Agritech is another area for cooperation between Israel and the UAE, including research, improving infrastructure, production methods and water saving processes. The UAE will look to deploy Israeli tech and replicate some of their success in that field.”
Agritechnology is just one sector within the established Israeli tech industry expected to benefit from the normalization of ties between two of the Middle East’s largest economies.
