Mohammed bin Salman had agreed to invest in Israel through Kushner
A diplomatic source revealed that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had previously agreed to invest in Israel through his friend Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump.
The source told Saudi Leaks that one of the secrets of Bin Salman’s recent investment of two billion dollars in Kushner’s company is his desire to invest in Israel and strengthen the hidden relations with Tel Aviv.
The source stated that bin Salman sees excellent economic opportunities in investing in the Israeli economy and wants this to be a prelude to announcing public normalization with it.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the new private investment fund of Jared Kushner plans to invest billions of dollars of Saudi money in Israeli startups.
Citing people familiar with the investment plans, Affinity Partners, which has raised more than $3 billion, including $2 billion from the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, has already selected its first two Israeli companies to invest in, according to people familiar with the investment plans.
The decision represents the first reported case in which the Saudi Public Investment Fund funds are directed to Israel, despite the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which may contribute to laying the foundations for a normalization agreement between the two countries, according to the newspaper.
During the negotiations, Saudi officials agreed that Affinity Partners could invest in Israeli companies, the people familiar with the company’s plans said. They noted that the kingdom could also open up its economy to Israeli companies by working with Kushner.
During the talks, Kushner warned Saudi officials that they might lose access to Israel, which he described as “the Silicon Valley in the Middle East,” favouring countries that signed normalization agreements with the entity, according to the newspaper reports.
Kushner said in a previous interview that he views his investment plans as an extension of his work in the White House to strengthen relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
“If we can get the Israelis and Muslims in the region to do business together, people will focus on common interests and shared values. We have begun historic regional change that needs to be fostered and nurtured.”
People familiar with the talks said that MBS is authorized to approve any decision to invest directly in Israel.
According to the report, the Kushner investment company intends to transfer Israeli technologies to Indonesia, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Kushner’s team was working secret to normalize relations between it and the occupying country before leaving the White House.
