Israelis, Bahrainis Connect at First Joint Innovation Conference in Manama

TML reports from the Connect2Innovate conference in Manama as businesspeople, innovators and officials from both counties mingle and network

Israeli and Bahraini businesspeople, innovators and officials mingled, connected and networked Monday on day one of the first bilateral innovation conference, held in Bahrain’s capital Manama.

Among the speakers at the launch of the Connect2Innovate conference were the Israeli and Bahraini ambassadors to each other’s nations, Eitan Na’eh and Khaled Yusuf Ahmed Aljalahma, respectively.

The conference was jointly organized by Israel’s Start-Up Nation Central, a nonprofit that connects governments, corporations and investors to the Israeli innovation ecosystem, along with the Israeli Embassy in Bahrain, the government of Bahrain and the Embassy of Bahrain in Israel.

Government officials, major companies, international organizations, and tech innovators were all present to discuss the challenges in several sectors, including agriculture, water, climate change and fintech. There were also workshops on tech ecosystem building, as attendees shared their knowledge and best practices.

Bahrain’s Ambassador to Israel Khaled Yusuf Ahmed Aljalahma speaks at a joint Israeli-Bahraini conference on innovation, in Manama on March 13, 2023. (Dario Sanchez/The Media Line)

Start-Up Nation Central brought a delegation of more than 60 Israelis to Bahrain for the occasion, including senior government officials, business executives, entrepreneurs, and investors. The event kicked off with a special VIP gala event featuring some very distinguished speakers.

Addressing the gala event, Aljalahma praised the Israeli approach to innovation, which he said had led to the successes that earned the country its moniker of start-up nation.

“What distinguishes Israelis is this intense culture of innovation; a constant hunger and search for problems that can be solved or solutions that can be made better or more efficient. And when they find the problem, they come up with an idea on how to solve it, which, with the help of an astonishing ecosystem, turns that idea into a startup,” he said.

Aljalahma praised the ties that have developed between the two countries since signing the Abraham Accords normalization treaty in September 2020.

“The relationship between Israel and Start-Up Nation Central and the Kingdom of Bahrain is true and honest, created by the desire to deepen the fruitful cooperation between both countries,” he said. “I am proud to say that approximately three years after the signing of the Abraham Accords, collaborations in all fields are expanding and we always strive to grow them even more. I am confident that the technological tools and products developed by the Israeli startup companies will bring great benefit to the Bahraini economy and vice versa.”

Na’eh also hailed the developing ties between the two countries over the past three years and compared the bilateral relationship to two interfaces learning to understand one another in order to better cooperate.

“This is why we gathered here,” Na’eh said. “To take the [Abraham] Accords from vision to reality. The relationship between the two countries is moving forward as we harness both countries’ added values of human capital, mutual quest for peace, security and prosperity, through innovation and economic cooperation and progress.”

Several MoUs were also signed Monday in the areas of financial technology, manufacturing, logistics, water, energy and climate.

Connect2Innovate is taking place against the backdrop of widespread protests in Israel against the government’s proposed judicial reforms. The ongoing unrest has led many investors and tech leaders to express concern about the controversial legislation, which they say puts Israel’s thriving tech ecosystem in danger.