‘This is very significant’- Israel, US sign historic MOU, advance cooperation in energy and AI

Netanyahu noted “the incredible cooperation and friendship that has been unmatched and will yield great things for America and Israel.”

By World Israel News Staff

Israel and the United States signed an MOU Tuesday on advancing cooperation in energy and artificial intelligence.

The signing was held at Blair House in Washington with the participation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, together with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to Washington.

The agreement, formulated under the leadership of Israel’s Energy Secretary Eli Cohen, is designed to advance cooperation in applying AI to strengthening the energy grids in Israel and the US and to encourage research, innovation and the development of joint policies.

The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure is a party to the agreement along with the Prime Minister’s Office and the US Department of Energy, the US Department of the Interior and the White House National Energy Dominance Council.

“The future belongs to those who innovate,” Netanyahu said. “America and Israel are the prime innovation nations on the planet. AI is the thrust of innovation now and will create unbelievable things in the future. It’s both challenging, because there could be bad things in it, but there could be unimaginable good things. I think we can lead this. This day will be remembered. Not every signing ceremony is as significant as this. This is very significant.”

Netanyahu noted “the incredible cooperation and friendship that has been unmatched and will yield great things for America and Israel. It will make both of us greater again.”

“Before we begin, I do want to say about this historic agreement. There has been such incredible collaboration between the United States and Israel demonstrated over the last month,” said US Secretary of the Interior Burgum.

“The planning, the execution, the world has never seen anything like it, truly eliminating one of the existential threats that was facing the entire world, not just Israel and the United States,” he added, referring to the attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.

“This step takes us into the future around collaboration because we know that defense would not be working without AI, but all the incredible technological leadership, the great entrepreneurship, the incredible startup community that’s strong and vibrant in Israel, all of this bodes well for the future. The first kind of agreement that Chris and I have signed with any country is this one and we think it’s a great place to start.”

Israel has been “a great American ally for a long time, and I think our partnership has never been tighter, never been stronger than it is today,” Wright said.