With the new openings of the Abraham Accord between Israel and the UAE, we are seeing the early stages of the Gartner Hype Cycle play out at the nexus of global diplomacy and business. With a flurry of travel by VCs and entrepreneurs on both sides to generate new business together, the possibilities for collaboration across all sectors are seemingly endless and expectations are high. It will take years, if not decades, to achieve a steady state of foreign investment and trade between the UAE and Israel.
There will be notable successes early on, likely followed by disputes over deals gone wrong, and followed by questions in the next three to five years over the right long-term partnership model. To achieve long-term success in the relationship and avoid the notorious “trough of disillusionment” in the coming years, the UAE and Israel should focus on a few fundamental principles of commercial diplomacy:
- Let cultures meet in the middle For understanding cultural differences in business decision making, INSEAD professor Erin Meyer’s classic book The Culture Map provides a terrific resource. As complex negotiations begin, there may be differences in behavior on each side arising from cultures of communication. As with all good relationships, both sides must be prepared to meet in the middle, somewhere between inshallah and hayom. As Yagub AlSerkal, founder of YAS Investments, put it: “Ultimately, we will be guided in this relationship by new generations who want peace and prosperity, who see more commonalities than differences, and who take the time to understand one another.”Israeli negotiators are notoriously direct and blunt in their delivery. This is borne of a mindset from Israel’s founding that tomorrow is not a certainty, and therefore, to be productive today (hayom). This culture has benefitted the Israeli people and Israeli industry, though sometimes it can feel like you are negotiating with a bulldozer. Yoni Heilbronn, founder of IL Ventures, tells us: “While Israelis often can be overstated in respect of business opportunities, we will need to cut down on the “chatter,’ and demonstrate real value as we are cultivating new relationships.”