November Special Edition 2021

9 been signed. We have also seen interest from clients in the renewable energy sector here in Israel which was more surprising,” added Phillips of Herzog. The energy sector has been key. One of the largest commercial agreements so far between the two countries has been the sale by Delek Drilling of its 22% share in the lucrative offshore Tamar natural gas field to Abu Dhabi’s Mubdala Petroleum Company for USD 1.1 Billion in April 2021. In October 2020 an agreement was announced between Israel’s state-owned Europe-Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC) and the newly formed UAE-Israeli Med-Red Land Bridge (MRLB) to transfer crude and oil products between the Red Sea and Mediterranean which is projected to be worth USD 700-800 million when completed. There were key developments in the renewable sector – when two Israeli companies, Golan Solar and the investment company EIIG (“Emirates Israel Investment group”) announced its intention to establish a joint corporation in the UAE with the Mahy Khoory Group, which will market solar systems and initiate independent projects in the field of renewable energy. Although quiet at present, in March 2021, the UAE announced the establishment of a USD 10 Billion fund to invest in energy and other strategic sectors of Israel’s economy, including water, healthcare, space,manufacturing, energy and agricultural technology – many of which have already seen interesting deals. In the summer, representatives from Israeli air-to-water company Watergen, Tel Aviv University and the Emirati Baynunah company met to sign the establishment of a joint water research institute in the UAE. The institute is set to tackle issues of drinking water and water treatment in the arid region, as well as enable student and faculty exchanges. Last November, Watergen signed a strategic partnership with Emirati firm Al Dahra to export the Israeli solutions to the UAE and other regional countries. Agtech has seen developments. In July, DisruptAD, the venture capital arm of the Abu Dhabi holding company ADQ, co-led a USD 105 million Series B The USD 10 Billion fund to invest in Israel’s key sectors: from water to healthcare to agtech and more