‘Small countries punching above their weight’. How diplomacy is ushering in a new era for Middle East tech | ZDNet
New markets, investment and collaboration are just some of the potential prospects that closer links are already beginning to unlock.
The Abraham Accords, a series of normalisation deals signed last year between Israel and Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), offer the chance to galvanise the technology sector across the region.
The deals signed last year established diplomatic relations between the countries and also opened the way for more business opportunities between the long-estranged states.
The Accords were “a historical and timely breakthrough, and a turning point for the Middle East region,” says Abdulla Al Hamed, managing partner at digital transformation and consultancy company INTERMID and chairman of the Bahrain Internet Society. “For future generations to prosper, we must find ways to address the common issues the world is facing right now, and the Middle East is no exception,” he says.
Shared goals
Despite their historic differences, there are strong similarities in the role that tech and innovation plays in driving the economies of countries such as Israel, Bahrain and the UAE.
“The Gulf and Israel are really well placed to take advantage and leverage each other because they’re both high-tech, very modern economies,” says Seth Frantzman a Middle East security analyst and founder of the new website Israel-Gulf Report. “They are both tech hubs.”
