Jared Kushner wants to invest in Israel with money from Saudi Arabia

Created: 05/10/2022 15:29

By: Lukas Zigo

Jared Kushner (l) at a meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2018. © dpa

The US brokers a historic normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Jared Kushner now uses the contacts collected there.

Riyadh/Jerusalem – Former US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, helped broker a historic normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel during his tenure.

Kushner now wants to build on the agreement reached between the rivals with his new private equity fund.

The fund plans to invest millions of Saudi dollars in Israel's "Silicon Valley."

This is said to be a sign of a wide improvement in relations.

Affinity Partners, which has raised more than $3 billion, has already selected the first two Israeli companies to invest in, people familiar with the process said.

Two of the three billion dollars come from the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Abraham Accords: Kushner normalizes relationships and builds mutual funds

This is the first known example of Saudi public investment fund money flowing into Israel.

It's a sign of the kingdom's growing willingness to do business with the country, despite the lack of diplomatic ties.

This could lay the foundation for a further normalization of relations.

Two years after the US brokered the historic normalization deal, Israel is deepening its business and security ties with Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates.

Kushner, a former White House adviser, played a crucial role in the so-called Abraham Accords.

In the process, Kushner has forged close ties with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler.

Since leaving the White House, Kushner has used his Middle East contacts at the time to build his private equity firm.

This could mean investing in Israel's economy while diversifying the Saudi economy.

This is looking for ways to position themselves for the time after the oil.

Saudi Arabia is desperately trying to diversify its economy - Israel should help

The kingdom runs a large budget deficit, which is not a problem as long as the country generates high revenue from commodity sales to support the budget.

Riyadh planners know that the country's current budget is entirely dependent on commodity exports.

Therefore, they want to use the funds from commodity trading today to invest in sources of money for tomorrow.

As part of negotiations to secure the kingdom's funding, Saudi officials have agreed that Affinity Partners can invest in Israeli companies, people familiar with the plans said.

The kingdom could also open up its economy to Israeli companies by working with Kushner, they noted.

Kushner optimistic about Israel-Saudi Arabia relationship development

Normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel would be accelerated by deepening economic ties, Kushner said.

"The more we can forge business relationships and introduce the region's innovators to each other, the more we empower those who want to embark on this new path while weakening those stuck in the old paradigm," added Kushner.

(lz)