In another sign of Israel’s deepening business and security ties with Arab states, Saudi Arabia has committed $2 billion in public funds to Jared Kushner’s new private-equity group, Affinity Partners. As Dion Nissenbaum and Rory Jones note, this “marks the first known instance that the Saudi public investment fund’s cash will be directed to Israel, a sign of the kingdom’s increasing willingness to do business with the country, even though they have no diplomatic relations.” Drawing on interviews with Kushner and others close to the deal, Nissenbaum and Jones examine Kushner’s broader strategy, as well as responses by lawmakers in both the Middle East and the U.S.
[Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund] is tasked with transforming the domestic Saudi economy via investments in new industries and sprawling real-estate developments, such as a $500 billion futuristic city-state called Neom. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has told advisers and diplomats he hopes Israelis will play a big part in developing Neom, with potential investments in biotechnology and cybersecurity. In November 2020, the prince met at Neom with then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a sign Saudi Arabia could join the Abraham Accords. But new administrations in the U.S. and Israel slowed momentum.
After securing Saudi investment, Mr. Kushner and his team traveled in March to Israel to meet with dozens of Israeli companies looking for financial support from Affinity, according to those involved in the meetings. Mr. Kushner held meetings with Israeli startups working on everything from healthcare and agriculture to software and cyber, they said.
Saudi Arabia isn’t the only country without diplomatic relations with Israel that Mr. Kushner is wooing. Affinity is also looking to bring Israeli technology to Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, according to people familiar with the discussions. Before leaving the White House, Mr. Kushner and his team were working to secure a normalization deal with Indonesia and Israel, but the deal didn’t come together before President Biden took office.
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More about: Israel-Arab relations, Jared Kushner, Saudi Arabia