A Dutch and a Spanish company signed a merger deal in Tel Aviv on Wednesday at the Abrahamic Business Circle’s Investors Roundtable.
The deal between the Dutch artificial intelligence learning platform Knowingo and the Spanish Openspring cybersecurity company translates into jobs for 350 employees in eight offices around the world.
The companies met through the circle and chose to sign their deal in Israel.
The first event of its kind in Israel
The roundtable event was the first of its kind held in the country. Previous roundtables had been held in the United Arab Emirates and Zurich. More than 200 high-level business people and two dozen diplomats took part in the discussions, which were held at the Hilton Tel Aviv.
“The talk in the UAE is not about where are the boundaries between us,” Dr. Mohammed Alketbi, founder of Forceis Security in the UAE told i24News from the event. “We want to combine our thoughts, combine our business investments and align our visions from the governments through the private sector. The next big thing coming up is not Europe or the US, it is the Middle East.”
“We want to combine our thoughts, combine our business investments and align our visions from the governments through the private sector. The next big thing coming up is not Europe or the US, it is the Middle East.”
Dr. Mohammed Alketbi
In addition to the networking and learning sessions, the Abrahamic Business Circle bestowed the award of “Excellence in Strengthening Economic Prosperity” to Bahraini Ambassador to Israel Khaled Al Jalahma.
I was delighted to receive the award of "Excellence In Strengthening Economic Prosperity", from the Abrahamic Business Circle. During the event I had the opportunity to speak about the importance of fostering economic diplomacy through business and investments in our region. pic.twitter.com/fSPrmjLubF
— Khaled Al Jalahma (@BahrainAmbIsr) December 7, 2022
“We chose the honorable Al Jalahma for what he is doing by bringing the normalization agreement down to the people,” said circle founder and chairman Dr. Raphael Nagel.
The day-long event included visitors from more than 30 countries, including from throughout the Middle East, like Egypt, Morocco and Jordan. Guests were welcomed by a letter sent to the circle from Israeli President Isaac Herzog who “commended and congratulated the Abrahamic Business Circle for building peace through commercial partnerships.”
The next Investors Roundtable is scheduled to take place next year in Dubai.