Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, speaking at the first DiploTech Global Summit, said that “it would be devastating and a massive step backward” if the United States were to resume the Iranian nuclear deal as it was originally formulated.
In an exclusive conversation with Ambassador Danny Danon, Israel’s 17th UN Ambassador and recently elected Chairman of the World Likud, Haley said that “to go back and start over would be devastating.” Haley said that US sanctions against Iran have brought the Iranians to their knees. She suggested that the United States should let the Iranians come back to the negotiating table and “make them prove what they are going to do before we do anything else.” Haley said that though the Iranian people may want peace, the country’s leaders have no intention of bringing peace to the Middle East. Ambassador Danon, who worked together with Ambassador Haley during their UN years, commented, “On the issue of a nuclear Iran, Israel cannot make any mistakes.”
Spearheading this initiative, Ambassador Danon stated that “Israel is proving that it continues to be the start-up nation when it comes to technology. The world is recognizing that Israel has a lot to offer in the way of innovation and partnerships from Agritech and Watertech to Healthtech and cybersecurity. We welcome global partners to discuss post-COVID solutions to help change our lives for a better today, and to help build the world of tomorrow.”
Ambassador Haley urged the Trump Administration, which stopped funding UNRWA in 2018, to declassify information about the actual number of refugees in the UNRWA program before the Biden Administration takes office. “This is about truth, and about the fact that the entire world assumes that there are millions of people that are considered refugees according to UNRWA, yet they will never talk about the facts. It is hugely important towards peace and towards truth, and it is important that everyone deserves to know what that true refugee number is.”
The DiploTech Global Summit, which was held virtually due to COVID, brought together world leaders, heads of state, policymakers, diplomats, investors, and trailblazers from various fields, including technological innovation in medicine, hi-tech, agriculture, communications, and more.
Jerusalem Post News Editor Maayan Hoffman moderated two panels with leaders in the hi-tech field regarding challenges and solutions for a sustainable collective future and the preparation of a proactive and orderly outline for a post-COVID world, where innovation and technology will play an even greater and more meaningful role.
Ambassadors Danny Danon and Nikki Haley to speak at DiploTech 2020 (Credit: REUTERS)
Ambassadors Danny Danon and Nikki Haley to speak at DiploTech 2020 (Credit: REUTERS)
The first panel, entitled ‘Israeli technology and future sustainable solutions’ featured Meggie Abecasis, vice president Commercial Landscaping for Vertical Field, which develops technological solutions for vertical agriculture, and green walls in urban areas; Zack Fenster, vice president of Business Development for Watergen, whose company produces water from the air; and Ofir Ardon, CEO of Agritask, which provides solutions to farmers to improve productivity.
Fenster said that the shortage of drinking water, which affects both developing countries and the most advanced nations, requires new approaches to provide immediate solutions. Abecasis pointed out that the corona pandemic exposed the weaknesses of poor city planning, extensive urban density, and inefficient infrastructure, all of which need to be addressed in the future. Ardon stated that due to the COVID crisis, more and more companies will support remote work, and that his company is working on solutions to support such activities.
The second panel, entitled ‘The Post-COVID World,’ focused on technological solutions that have been developed during the COVID crisis and will continue to be implemented and further developed in the post-COVID world. Participants included Dr. Kira Radinsky, Chairwoman and CTO, Diagnostic Robotics, Asher Dagan, CEO of Britannica Knowledge Systems, Rafi Kaminer, CEO of Pangea Group, and Masood Al-Awar, CEO of Medallion Associates in the United Arab Emirates.
Radinsky said that her company set up a clinical triage system at the outset of the COVID pandemic that identified the loss of taste and smell as a symptom of the disease, just three days after the outbreak of the virus. Her company’s algorithms enabled analysis of the severity of patient symptoms, which were able to predict which patients would require hospitalization and which could remain at home. This allowed hospitals to reduce the patient loads initially before a testing system for COVID was in place. She added that as a result of the advancement of medical data analysis in the COVID pandemic, many medical processes will be able to become automated in the future and will thus improve the quality and efficiency of medical care.
Kaminer, whose company develops access control systems, has created touchless and frictionless systems that provide authorized access to areas such as airports and office buildings without a need for visitors to receive physical authorization from others nearby, thus minimizing the risk of infection. They are currently working with the World Health Organization to create mobile vaccination cards and biometric vaccination cards to help open the world economy once the virus abates.
Dagan, head of Britannica Knowledge Systems, develops training systems for large companies such as Boeing and NASA, and pointed out that the corona crisis forced companies to move from classroom training to online schooling, which was challenging for these highly regulated organizations.
Masood Al-Awar discussed the effects of the pandemic in the UAE and how his country managed to maintain sufficient supplies of food and medicine during this challenging period. He said that the advanced development of the UAE’s infrastructure was accelerated and improved during this time and that future collaboration with Israel on this front will continue, stating that “technology has no boundaries.”
The virtual conference was moderated by Fox News business anchor Liz Claman and also featured appearances by foreign leaders from the Marshall Islands, Guatemala, and Antigua and Barbuda, all of whom spoke of the importance of technological innovation in the post-COVID world, and the vital role that Israel is playing, and will continue to perform in the post-COVID world.
The DiploTech Global Summit aims to continue to build on the success of the first virtual Summit and continue to forge connections through technology in the years ahead.