Jerusalem24 – Since the beginning of the month Dubai launched its 2021 Expo. A lot of attention was given to Israel’s participation this year. Ever since the the Abraham Accords, normalization between the United Arab Emirates and Israel has only been increasing.
With Israeli Justice Minister, Aylet Shaked, announcing that Israelis will be able to travel to Dubai without a travel visa. Meanwhile, Israeli Minister of foreign affairs Yair Lapid, will be meeting with American Secretary of state Anthony Blinken and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, later today.
While everyone is focusing on the political aspects of what is going on between the UAE and Israel, the economic impact has often been overlooked. What economic impact will it have on Israel, what kind of effects will it have on the Palestinians?
While the majority of views point towards disastrous effects towards Palestinians in the form of less investments from international and Arab investors, some Palestinians are not too concerned.
“Even if we don’t like to see Israeli presence, we should focus on how to counterpart this by strong presence and the right presentation of our capabilities and business strategies,” says Shireen Shilleh. She is a Palestinian entrepreneur and businesswoman, who has done a lot of work around the world.
Shilleh doesn’t believe that normalization will affect businesses in Palestine, as in the world of business attracting clients to Palestine relies on the Palestinians. She says that Palestinian businesses should focus on strategies on building a stronger business presence, as well as working more on creating the right eco-system to attract investors.
“We can’t really compete with Israelis because they have their own strong eco system.”
– Shireen Shilleh
Shilleh has been working with international businesses and investors for over 15 years. To her, none of this is new. She had worked on projects in countries like Libya, the United Arab Emirates and even European Countries. She says, “as engineers we managed to show them that we are capable and able to deliver them their works in the standards they want.”
Shilleh believes that her experiences can also apply to the IT sector as many IT companies working in Palestine, whether in the West Bank and Gaza can take work from the entire region. “They have Palestinian brains and talents,” she says.
To hear her entire interview click below.
