The United States and Israel continue to build their economic partnership and expand scientific collaboration.
More than 80 U.S. and Israeli officials gathered in Washington in October to discuss critical economic issues at an annual meeting the two nations have been holding since 1985.
Among the topics during this year’s meeting: collaborating in emerging scientific fields, such as quantum information science and artificial intelligence, and applying nascent technologies, such as autonomous driving, to solve mass transit problems in crowded cities.
Joey Hood, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, called the annual meeting of the U.S.-Israel Joint Economic Development Group (JEDG) “an important venue for discussing issues that affect our economies, sharing best practices that remove barriers to economic growth, and deepening the U.S.-Israel bilateral relationship.”
The two countries also discussed expanding Israel’s participation in scientific research with the Department of Energy‘s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which specializes in high-energy particle physics.
Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has called Israel a “partner, friend and ally.”