Israel, World Bank ink tech training deal

Having once been a recipient of World Bank loans--most recently from 1975 to 1981--the move to become a contributing country is significant.

Computer keyboard [illustrative]. (photo credit: ING IMAGE/ASAP)
Computer keyboard [illustrative].
(photo credit: ING IMAGE/ASAP)
The Economy Ministry and World Bank have reached a first-of-its-kind agreement for Israel to provide best practices for developing countries in the Information and Communication Technologie
The Economy Ministry will contribute to a half million dollars to fund three training courses for World Bank clients – developing country policymakers – to take place in Israel, focusing on ICT in water, agriculture and cyber-security. It will also contribute analysis for the Bank’s 2016 World Development report.
“Israel is a leader in information technologies and their applications to areas like agriculture, irrigation, and cyber security,” said Pierre Guislain, Senior Director of the World Bank’s Transport and Information & Communications Technology (ICT) Global Practice. “We are very happy that Israel has chosen ICT as the topic for its partnership with the Bank.” ​
The collaboration followed two years of discussions between the ministry’s Foreign Trade Administration and the Bank’s ICT unit, which represents roughly $1.7 billion worth of projects with active ICT components at the bank.
Having once been a recipient of World Bank loans--most recently from 1975 to 1981--the move to become a contributing country is significant, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett noted.
“This agreement will create a great collaborative platform that will contribute to strengthening our relations with developing countries and will create opportunities for sharing Israeli expertise and technologies,” Bennett said.