Will Saudi Arabia soon become an investment base for Israelis? The possibility no longer sounds far-fetched. In the last days, the Saudi royal house decided to grant citizenship to outstanding professionals. One of them is Mohammed al-Husseini, who openly declares the need for a dialogue with Israel.
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A few weeks ago, Isaac Levy, an Israeli businessman and owner of a real estate company, came back from a trip to Saudi Arabia. Levy is the owner of Yvel, the largest jewelry company in Israel. Based in Jerusalem, Yvel is the first Israeli company to ever exhibit its products in Saudi Arabia. The Israeli jewelry brand YVEL can be found in over 600 stores around the world. The prices of its pieces begin at $500 and reach $2 million for a diamond piece. The Israeli company has two Lebanese representatives that represent it in Saudi Arabia.
"During the five days of the exhibition, I personally met the people and clients I had been in contact with. The enthusiasm surrounding the fact that I'm Israeli was no less than astounding," he says.
According to Levy, Saudi Arabia can become a growth engine for Israel, and in parallel, Israel can become a growth engine for the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia is a huge country with a population of 40 million, hungry for technology in a range of fields including agriculture, hi-tech, cyber, water desalination, solar energy, and, yes – real estate.
To gauge the real estate potential for collaboration between the two countries, it's enough to consider the project approved this week in Saudi Arabia and announced by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, 200 kilometers from Eilat: building a floating industrial port city in the Red Sea, which will become the largest floating structure in the world. It will be an octagonal city, half of which will float on the water. The cost of building the immense project is estimated at $500 billion.
"This is a country that is yearning for cultural ties, and in this case the connection will be mutually fruitful," says Levy. "Israel needs the resources that Saudi Arabia has – endless resources in the fields of finance, energy, and, mostly, boundless curiosity about innovation in general and Israel in particular," says Levy. "Every day that passes without opening the gates to peace with them is a loss for both sides. Both Israel and Saudi Arabia are unaware of the potential each has, and I'm not talking about security issues."
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Notably, today the kingdom allows Jewish rabbis to perform religious services openly and freely, throughout its realm. Religious freedom is the proof that the Saudi people in general, and the royal house in particular, are keenly interested in ties with Jews and with Israel, which were previously nonexistent.
Levy has an important recommendation for promoting relations between the countries: "It's important to remember that Saudis are discreet people. Very discreet. They don't understand the tendency to 'kiss and tell.' That mistake was already made in the past. It shouldn't be allowed to be made again."
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