Israel Joins the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Israel Innovation Authority will represent Israel, joining a network of countries including the US, China, Japan, and India, to promote regulatory changes required for adopting innovative technologies.

Jerusalem – 3 July 2019 – The Israeli government today announced their participation in the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) program. Dr. Ami Appelbaum, Chairman of the Board of Israel Innovation Authority and Chief Scientist of the Israel Ministry of Economy and Industry attended a signing ceremony in Israel earlier this week. The Israel Innovation Authority will represent Israel at C4IR. 

Joining a network of countries including the US, China, Japan, and India, Israel will leverage its participation in the program to promote regulatory changes and to be exposed to regulatory innovation and technological governance worldwide. Israel’s participation will promote the smooth integration of innovative technologies into the Israeli economy and enable the Israeli hi-tech industry to secure its global leadership in new areas of activity.

Technological innovation is making huge strides in different fields including smart transportation, healthcare and medicine, agriculture and food, finance, and more. But regulatory agencies responsible for determining the rules of activity, competition, norms, and consumer protections have struggled to keep up with the rapid pace and challenges of technological progress. 

The WEF established C4IR to create an international network of regulatory agencies, with an eye toward bridging regulation and technological progress, addressing shared challenges, and formulating solutions to be piloted in different countries.

As a global leader in developing innovative technologies impacting almost every aspect of modern life, Israel’s participation in the global organization is instrumental as it paves the way for governments to adopt innovative technologies while safeguarding citizens’ security and privacy. The cooperation Israel has already established between government agencies and its hi-tech ecosystem constitutes the basis for collaboration, regulation, and legislation adopted around the world.

A delegation of senior officials headed by Aharon Aharon, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, attended a WEF conference in China to kick-start participation in the C4IR network. The delegation met with senior Forum officials including Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the WEF, C4IR members from various countries, and senior officials from the worlds of governance, regulation, and technology.

Murat Sönmez, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum and head of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Global Network, said: “We are very excited to welcome Israel as the newest member of the C4IR network. As the ‘Start-Up Nation,’ Israel has already proven itself as a global leader in technology innovation. Now, as part of the C4IR network, it will extend this leadership to the global governance of key emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Vehicles and Precision Medicine.”

Aharon Aharon, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, said: “The Innovation Authority, whose goal is to enable the global growth of Israeli hi-tech and to boost its economic impact in Israel, will accomplish two major missions through its activity regarding technological regulation and international cooperation. On one hand, we will promote Israeli regulation to support the assimilation of technological innovations and to maintain tech’s tremendous influence on the Israeli economy. On the other hand, we will produce an opportunity for the hi-tech industry to lead in fields where regulation that is now taking shape will define the structure of the market and the new global leaders within it.”