The new American administration has decided to put on hold its mega-investment fund that was supposed to help strengthen regional ties after last year’s signing of the Abraham Accords, Globes reported Wednesday, based on American and Israeli sources.
The Abraham Fund was established immediately after Israel signed the historic normalization agreement with the UAE and Bahrain in September 2020.
It was to be underwritten by some $3 billion from both the U.S. government and private financial institutions to “promote economic cooperation and to encourage prosperity in the Middle East and beyond.”
After getting off to a running start, approving more than 10 projects in such fields as energy and fin-tech and reviewing hundreds more, it came to a sudden stop when Joe Biden won the presidential elections. The Fund’s head, appointed by former president Trump, left, and a successor has yet to be chosen.
According to Globes, the administration has told Israel that the Fund’s activities were being “reassessed.”
It also cited “a senior U.S. source” who said that while the White House wants the Abraham Accords to succeed, it will only promote the diplomatic side and has “indefinitely frozen” the Fund.
Source: World Israel News
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