An event marking the third anniversary of the Abraham Accords, the historic US-brokered agreement normalizing relations between Israel and four Arab nations, was hosted by Start-Up Nation Central in Tel Aviv on Thursday. The event highlighted the successes, challenges, and vision for the future of these ties.
The United Arab Emirates signed the first of the Abraham Accords in August 2020. Bahrain followed in September 2020, Morocco in December 2020, and Sudan in January 2021. Innovation has been key to forging the ties between Israel and each of the Abraham Accords countries.
Trade between Israel and the UAE reached $298 million in May 2023, a 48% increase in trade from May 2022. Total trade in 2022 between Israel and the UAE was $2.9 billion, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics.
Trade between Israel and Bahrain reached $12.7 million in 2022.
Morocco’s trade with Israel reached $55.7 million in 2022. Trade between the countries for the first five months of 2023 was $33.4 million, constituting a 110% increase in trade from the first five months of 2022, the Statistics Bureau said.
Start-Up Nation Central CEO Avi Hasson told The Media Line that the Abraham Accords have the potential to transcend previous peace agreements between Israel and Arab states by influencing trade and societal relations between the countries as well as governmental relations.
“It is our obligation to make sure that unlike former agreements, that were super strategic and obviously made a difference, this won’t stay in the level of government to government, but that it will touch and impact larger parts of the economy and the society,” he said.
Bahraini Ambassador to Israel Khalid Yusuf Ahmed Aljalahma spoke at the event about the business ties that have developed between the two nations around innovation exchange and cooperation. Those ties “are what really bring sustainability to these connections, because they are people-to-people,” he said at the event.
The Moroccan and Emirati diplomats in Israel were unable to attend the event.
Start-Up Nation Central announced at the event the launch of a new version of the Connect 2 Innovate conference, which brought 600 Israeli and Bahraini companies to Manama in March this year to collaborate around. In light of the program’s success, a conference open to the whole Middle East will be held in March 2024.