Israel is weighing steps to leverage its place in the global economy by acting as technology mentor to the rising powers like China, India and Brazil, according to Eugene Kandel, chief economic adviser to Prime Minster Binyamin Netanyahu.
“We are a small country and can’t offer trade benefits. But we can offer technology benefits. A small idea implemented in a big country becomes a big idea,” Kandel said in a briefing to financial reporters on Wednesday, saying that policymakers are only in the early stages of developing a strategy.
Israel is an acknowledged technology power, ranking among the world’s leaders in research and development spending and patents. But with just over seven million people, its total gross domestic product is about $200 billion, about the size of Louisiana’s. Israel’s two-way trade with China amounted to just $4.55 billion in 2009, or 0.2% of China’s total.
Kandel said Israel technology companies will have to shift some of their focus from the developed markets of the U.S. and Europe to developing economies. That will involve more than simply adjusting existing products but also developing technology that is cheaper and meets the other needs of less-advanced economies, he said.
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=31215 [3]