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Archived: AIM International Director Joins Trade Mission to Israel

Posted on May 15, 2014

Rupert.2014Kristen Rupert, Executive Director of the AIM International Business Council, and several AIM member employers will join Governor Deval Patrick May 27″June 4 for what officials say will be the largest state trade mission ever to Israel.

The governor will also visit the United Arab Emirates.

More than 100 Bay State business executives, academic leaders and state government officials will make the trip as the administration seeks to broaden commercial ties between Massachusetts and two of the fastest-growing economies in the Middle East.

Massachusetts has become a hotbed of direct investment by Israeli companies. A recent study by the New England-Israel Business Council determined that Israeli-founded companies in Massachusetts booked $6.2 billion in revenue in the state in 2012 and employed nearly 6,700 people. The study also found that the growth rate of Israeli companies in Massachusetts is five times that of the Massachusetts economy as a whole.

The mission to Israel will center around the U.S.- Israel CONNECTED Summit, a two-day event in Tel Aviv and Herzliya that will bring together hundreds of American and Israeli business and government leaders for industry-specific discussions on medical devices, neuroscience, Internet of Things, eHealth, water tech, and cyber security. Governor Patrick will deliver the keynote address at the conference.

Some members of the Massachusetts delegation will continue on to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where the governor will meet with leaders from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, UAE’s premier research university focusing on advanced energy and sustainable technologies. The mission comes several months after Emirates Airline initiated non-stop air service between Dubai and Boston.

Massport has been working for more than three years to bring direct air service from Tel Aviv to Boston. Negotiations continue.

Rupert, who has developed international business opportunities for AIM members on four previous Massachusetts trade missions, said Israel is an innovation powerhouse and an attractive market for Bay State companies interested in partnerships and exchanges of ideas and talent in a variety of industries.

“Strong connections already exist between the business and academic communities of Israel and Massachusetts, many of which were cultivated during the Governor’s previous mission to Israel in 2011,” she said.

“And the UAE, a relatively new market for Massachusetts, is focused on clean energy, technology and biosciences, which are strengths of our commonwealth.”

Among the companies participating in the trade mission are AIM members EMC, Foley Hoag, Philips, Steward Health Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Biogen Idec, UMass, Mintz Levin/ML Strategies, and EMD Serono.

“Massachusetts is already a national leader in the innovation economy, but we can’t compete by looking inward,” said Governor Patrick. “This mission is a tremendous opportunity to strengthen our relationship with key global growth centers, compete for jobs on the global playing field, and position Massachusetts as the North American destination for business growth.”

Employers seeking to establish contacts either in Israel or the UAE may contact Rupert at krupert@aimnet.org.