STAND WITHABRAHAM العربية

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Technology and innovation

What has happened since 2020, with sources. Figures show change over time, not cause.

Draft, under review: this content has not yet been approved for publication.

Overview

Technology was named as a priority in the first UAE–Israel agreements of October 2020, and it has produced some of the most concrete partnerships: university AI research between MBZUAI and the Weizmann Institute, the Presight.AI joint venture between G42 and Rafael, and government-level cyber cooperation that led to the 'Crystal Ball' threat-sharing platform in 2023.

Bahrain and Morocco signed innovation and science MoUs with Israel, and the I2U2 group (India, Israel, UAE, US) pledged to link start-ups to its investments. Hard measures, such as joint patents, co-authored papers or venture deal counts, are not yet published by official sources, so this page lists agreements and projects rather than outcome figures.

Key numbers

dozens of participants from Emirati entitiesUAE delegation to Cyber Week Tel Aviv2023 [1]

Timeline

  1. MBZUAI and the Weizmann Institute agree to collaborate on AI research. [2]⚑

  2. UAE and Israel sign an MoU on science and advanced technology. [3]

  3. Bahrain and Israel sign MoUs on technical cooperation, innovation, technology transfer and SMEs. [4]

  4. Morocco–Israel Joint Declaration names innovation among cooperation fields. [5]

  5. Rafael and G42 sign an agreement to set up the Presight.AI joint venture. [6]

  6. Israel and Morocco sign a science and technology cooperation agreement. [7]⚑

  7. I2U2 leaders pledge to connect start-ups to I2U2 investments and promote critical and green technologies. [8]

  8. UAE and Israel present the 'Crystal Ball' cyber threat-sharing platform at Cyber Week, Tel Aviv. [9][1]

  9. UAE-based EliteCISOs and Israel's Cyber Together sign a cybersecurity MoU. [1]

Country highlights

UAE

Science and technology MoU (2020); MBZUAI–Weizmann AI programme; G42–Rafael Presight.AI; cyber cooperation with Israel's National Cyber Directorate. [3][10]⚑[6][1]

Bahrain

Innovation, technology transfer and SME MoUs (1 Dec 2020); telecoms and IT MoU (18 Oct 2020). [4]

Morocco

Innovation named in the 2020 Declaration; science and technology agreement with Israel in May 2022. [5][7]⚑

Sudan

Data in progress

Israel

Counterpart in all items above, including the National Cyber Directorate's work with the UAE. [1]

Kazakhstan

Data in progress. Kazakhstan announced it would join the Accords in November 2025; it has had relations with Israel since 1992. No sector-specific cooperation sourced yet. [11][12]

Flagship projects

MBZUAI–Weizmann joint AI programme

Joint AI research, including researcher and student exchanges.

Partners
Mohamed bin Zayed University of AI; Weizmann Institute of Science
Date
2020–21
Status
Announced; current activity data in progress

[2]⚑[10]⚑

Presight.AI

Civilian AI and big-data joint venture with a planned R&D centre in Israel.

Partners
G42 (UAE); Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (Israel)
Date
Apr 2021
Status
Agreement signed; later status data in progress

[6]

Crystal Ball cyber platform

Cloud-based platform for sharing cyber-threat intelligence.

Partners
UAE Cyber Security Council; Israel National Cyber Directorate
Date
Jun 2023
Status
Launched

[9]

EliteCISOs–Cyber Together MoU

Knowledge-sharing, training and workshops for cybersecurity professionals.

Partners
EliteCISOs (UAE); Cyber Together (Israel)
Date
Jun 2023
Status
Signed

[1]

Bahrain–Israel innovation MoUs

Technical cooperation, innovation, technology transfer and SMEs.

Partners
Governments of Bahrain and Israel
Date
1 Dec 2020
Status
Signed

[4]

I2U2 start-up and technology track

Pledge to link start-ups to I2U2 investments.

Partners
India, Israel, UAE, US
Date
14 Jul 2022
Status
Pledged

[8][13]

Challenges

  • No official data on joint patents, co-authored papers or cross-border venture deals was found, so impact cannot yet be measured.
  • Several flagship announcements (MBZUAI–Weizmann, Presight.AI) have no public status update in the sources we found. [10]⚑[6]

What to watch

  • Co-authored research and patent counts (OECD, WIPO) for Accords pairs.
  • New AI and cyber agreements at GITEX and Cyber Week.
  • Any Kazakhstan–Israel technology agreements after its accession.

Sources

  1. WAM, 29 Jun 2023: UAE delegation to Cyber Week Tel Aviv
  2. MBZUAI news: collaboration with Weizmann Institute link being re-checked
  3. WAM, 20 Oct 2020
  4. Embassy of Israel in Bahrain: bilateral relations
  5. Morocco–Israel Joint Declaration text (Jewish Virtual Library)
  6. Globes, 19 Apr 2021: Rafael and G42 set up Presight.AI
  7. Israel Hayom, 29 May 2022: Israel–Morocco science agreement link being re-checked
  8. India MEA: I2U2 Leaders' Joint Statement, 14 Jul 2022
  9. The Circuit, 28 Jun 2023: 'Crystal Ball' platform
  10. MBZUAI: joint AI programme with Weizmann link being re-checked
  11. US Embassy in Kazakhstan: A New Era in U.S.–Kazakhstan Relations (Nov 2025)
  12. NPR / AP, 7 Nov 2025
  13. US State Department archive: I2U2

Sources checked on 27 Oct 2026. Figures show change over time, not cause. ⚑ marks a link being re-checked.