America awakened Wednesday to a new political reality as Donald Trump secured a decisive victory to become the nation's 47th president, following Kamala Harris' unsuccessful campaign to carry forward the Biden-Obama legacy.
President-elect Trump has consistently proven himself a steadfast ally of Israel – not through mere rhetoric, but through concrete actions, as demonstrated repeatedly during his previous term. As the 45th US president, Trump's unwavering commitment to Middle East peace was matched by his resolute defense of Israel's interests – a stark contrast to the approach taken by the Obama-Biden administration.
Abraham Accords: Trump's blueprint for regional transformation
Trump's first term saw a series of decisive moves: intensifying pressure on Iran through withdrawal from the nuclear deal and imposing stringent sanctions, designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem – Israel's eternal capital, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and orchestrating normalization agreements between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Morocco.
These historic Abraham Accords were intended to pave the way for broader regional peace, potentially including Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. This momentum stalled following Trump's 2020 electoral defeat, as the Biden administration struggled to maintain regional stability or demonstrate the clear foreign policy vision needed in our challenging neighborhood.
Trump's return to the White House opens new possibilities for Israel, Saudi Arabia, and potentially other Gulf states to forge comprehensive normalization agreements under American guidance, creating unprecedented economic opportunities throughout the region. Let's examine what each party brings to this prospective alliance and America's role as a facilitator.
Saudi Arabia offers a dynamic economy with 37 million predominantly young citizens eager for innovation. With an average age of 30 and a gross domestic product (GDP) of $28,000 per capita, the kingdom has enormous potential. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious Vision 2030, launched in 2016, aims to transform Saudi Arabia from an oil-dependent economy into a diversified, advanced nation. The initiative's success is crucial for bin Salman's leadership, particularly given current domestic and international challenges.
Despite recent economic headwinds, Israel's economy continues to thrive. Home to nearly 10 million people with an average age of 30, Israel boasts a per capita GDP of $66,000 – more than double Saudi Arabia's figure. The tech sector drives this prosperity, accounting for 50% of exports and almost 20% of GDP. Israel hosts 7% of global "unicorns" and maintains the world's premier tech workforce, with over 15% of employees in high-tech positions. The country has attracted R&D centers from more than 400 global leaders, including NVIDIA and Microsoft.
As the world's third-largest tech hub, Israel brings unmatched technological expertise to this potential regional partnership, particularly in developing industry-leading companies across defensive cybersecurity, defense technology, and AI applications in healthcare, education, and banking.
Saudi Arabia contributes massive purchasing power for both military and civilian technologies, along with ambitious mega-projects under Vision 2030 that provide ready-made opportunities to deploy these innovations. Israel's unique value proposition extends beyond its technological prowess – it offers something currently unavailable to Gulf states: a partnership that carries broad American support. This opens doors for Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations to access previously restricted US information systems and computing technologies through joint ventures with Israel.
Economic ties between Israeli companies and Gulf clients have already taken root, even with nations lacking formal diplomatic relations.
Israeli AI reaches Saudi Arabia
Several Israeli AI firms, including Dream Security and Bridgewise, are already securing multi-million dollar contracts with Gulf states. Additionally, Israeli startups have successfully raised capital from Gulf-based financial institutions. While these dealings remain discreet, particularly during current regional tensions, their substantial scale indicates strong mutual interest.
Under a Trump administration and with potential new agreements including Saudi Arabia, Israeli AI companies could become the backbone of the Gulf's technological transformation, powering everything from education and banking to healthcare and cybersecurity.
The Gulf states are already engaged in an aggressive tech modernization drive, investing tens of billions in semiconductor procurement and data center construction. They're laying the groundwork for competition in the emerging global landscape.
However, infrastructure alone isn't enough. Without skilled personnel and expertise to develop applications – whether for new commercial ventures or government efficiency – this technological foundation risks becoming like a luxury high-rise without tenants.
Israel can export its technological expertise to the Gulf while selling cutting-edge cyber and AI solutions. In return, Saudi Arabia could accelerate Israel's development of supercomputing infrastructure and data centers, while joining the US in investing in Israeli national projects.
The region's instability, the AI revolution, and America's political shift are deeply interconnected.
During my meeting with Trump in Washington DC two months ago, we discussed how his potential administration could help Israel maintain its regional technological edge. We agreed to revisit these plans after the election. That time has now come.
This morning, as the sun rises over Washington DC, one thing is certain:
The path to a technologically transformed Middle East runs through Riyadh, Jerusalem, and the White House.
Dovi Frances is an Israeli-American venture capitalist and founder of Group11 and The Institute, a national center for AI applications research.
