Israel Active

United Kingdom’s International Trade Minister, Lord Price, arrived in Israel for the first meeting of the new UK-Israel Trade Working Group, on the same day Britain chose to notify the European Union of its intention to leave.  Annual bilateral trade is currently worth around $6.2 billion.

Israel is Mexico’s biggest investor, after the USA, Spain and Germany.  Direct Investment in 2016 from Israeli ventures rose from $900 million to over $2 billion - beating Canada and Japan.

The numbers of passengers flying with Air Europa between Madrid and Tel Aviv have soared by 47% since January. The airline already added an extra flight in June last year and is now adding another two extra flights per week, using their new Boeing 787 Dreamliners on the route.

Israel’s Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya is launching Israel’s first BA program in Entrepreneurship in October (in English). Alternatively, the Jerusalem College of Technology offers a BSc in Computer Science (English) or BA degree course in Business Administration (partly in Hebrew).

I reported previously on Israel’s Rushdi Foods and its Mighty Sesame tahini.  Rushdi has now launched the ready-to-use, long shelf-life, vegan, natural, organic, sustainable, no additives, high-protein, gluten-free tahini in the UK.

Apple Inc. has acquired Israeli cybersecurity startup RealFace - whose facial recognition technology can be used to authenticate users. Its Pickeez app automatically chooses the user’s best photos.  This is Apple’s fourth acquisition in Israel.

Latest statistics show this is the best ever start to the tourism year in Israel. Between January and February 2017, 467,000 tourist entries were recorded, representing a 25% increase on the same period in 2016.

Israel’s Mindspace provides beautiful and inspiring office space for startups in prime locations in Tel Aviv and Germany. Mindspace has just raised $15 million to fund the opening of five new locations and expand within Europe and to the US.

The Israeli city of Eilat is to expand massively with the construction of 7,000 hotel rooms, 18,000 new homes, industrial zones, an international sports center, municipal parks, and a waste facility.

Chinese electronics giant Midea Group has acquired control of Israel’s Servotronix at a company value of $170 million. Servotronix develops automation solutions focused on motion control for robotics, printing, medical equipment, renewable energy etc. Development will continue in Israel.