 Good afternoon everyone a warm welcome to you from Geneva We are really delighted to have Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu With us today welcome Prime Minister for this very special conversation Which will be followed by an interaction with key business leaders Today Thank you, I wanted also to mention product Prime Minister that today is the Holocaust Memorial Day and We especially appreciate your presence here on such a day that has such a historical Importance, but it's also about never forgetting Mr. Prime Minister your contribution to the Davos agenda today Builds on your long-standing partnership with the forum We have had the pleasure to have you for our annual meeting the physical one in Davos Regulary over the past few years and we also have launched together with your government and under your leadership a center for the Fort industry revolution of the World Economic Forum in Israel and You have also made the huge and very important contributions to our great reset dialogue serious recently Prime Minister You have no being At the helm of the Israeli government for more than a decade no other Prime Minister in the history of Israel has had this position as long as you and know You're also staring your country during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic So I think many of the viewers and partners of the forum would really like to know How you see the coming months in Israel in the world when it comes to the pandemic When it comes to vaccination, I think you know vaccinated more than 70% of your people above 60 years old I don't think anyone can then show the same kind of results So please share with us because you are also still in a lockdown situation and and the next steps Prime Minister floors yours and welcome Thank you. It's good to be with you brandon with your audience Actually, we have Vaccinated 82% of our About 16. That's not enough. We have to vaccinate Determinates to 95% which was a big task, but that's about the residual of those who really opposed Vaccines it's about 5% so we should be able to and I intend to get it up there for further if You ask what's the challenge we're in an arms race except it's not an arms race. It's a race between vaccination and Mutation the mutations especially the British mutation, but there'll be more mutations. There are more mutations. There'll be more mutations in the future means that we have to race as fast as we can to vaccinate the first the risk groups in the population and then everyone else and in order to give immunity and then probably expect the Companies that are producing the vaccines at this point to modify their vaccines To accommodate the mutations that they don't cover now as they develop and then we'll have to purchase them That's going to be our life for the coming years. I don't think that we're going to Evade that but we can overcome it the reason we did Well in Israel is one because we purchase a lot fast Didn't quibble about the price. I personally got involved in it and I said just basically to the bureaucrats Cut the whatever I want to be diplomatic so This feel free to share with us very candidly so well cut the seaward I mean, this is ridiculous, you know, you'll pay a few more dollars per dose now tomorrow Everybody will be paying ten times that much So number one that number two The legal people I actually was on the phone with the president of but the CEO of Pfizer Albert Borla I think at 2 o'clock in the morning. He put his legal advisor on I put our legal advisor on and we crashed so you need personal leadership to move it and basically the selling point was a real one turns out to be true that Israel could serve as a world laboratory for Herd immunity or something approaching herd immunity very quickly Because we have an efficient distribution system. We proved that With the four HMOs that aren't once competing and cooperating with each other to unique system That's why we have actually the I think the lowest the highest The highest life expectancy almost in the world with one of the lowest frequencies of diseases at the minimal cost about 8% of GDP and it's a lot to do with this system that combines competition and social security Floor that protects every citizen so 98% of our citizens have digital records in these HMOs that go back 20 years and we offer to share that with Pfizer and with all humanity To understand what the effects of mass inoculations are on subgroups, not individual information That's nothing nobody gets that but statistical information that could prove very valuable and the most important thing I think the most pressing thing is the question of what real degree Not only a personal protection you get from vaccines, but what is the level of? Preventing infections when you receive the inoculation. That's a critical Question obviously as you want to open the economy and restore life to normal. In short, we I gave Pfizer the argument that they could benefit from the data that we could produce And they were convinced and then we We went along and did this and in fact our health system did exactly that We have a digital digitized System for this you distributing health 1400 sites in a very small country of 9 million And they just work it out and again on the distribution You know I take Say I don't call that much five times a day. I Heard that you had been on the phone 70 times with the Pfizer CO so 21 times not 17 not 70 but 21 times But also I speak with Stefan Bancel of Moderna. I've spoken to the heads of the other companies. I think you need Personal leadership here, you know, it's like checking on munitions in a war You really have to make sure you're getting first of all them the stock of vaccines Then you have to make sure that they're distributed and they have to be distributed in a basically in an optimized way that Keeps changing but we're doing that. So that's basically what we have done And I think the important thing is not merely what we've done for Israel but the fact that Israel can serve as Basically a global really truly a global test case not for dangerous experiments, but to understand the this safe experiment that we're carrying out What is the best way and what is the efficacy of using? using this this and later Moderna Inoculation to Move the economies for to open up the economies. What risk are we taking? What's the infection rate and so on? So that that's basically what we're doing and I think I think a lot of countries will profit by No, thank you for that and thank you for your leadership But one short follow-up question on something you said that of course we are all concerned about now is the mutation We have the UK piece, but we also seen in Brazil and South Africa It seems like the current vaccines at least Pfizer works, okay with the UK variant But we don't know yet on the others But this also probably then shows as you were alluding to Prime Minister that we in the future will see different mutations and then we also have to adjust the vaccines Do you foresee that when this COVID-19 is around is going to be Like the flu so every fall you have to take an updated flu vaccine You think it's gonna stay around and who are you prepared for then adjusting the vaccines and are you very worried that the new strains? will Not the vaccines will not be worried Want to work on the new strains just Like you have gone very meticulously into this subject Well, the answer to your first question is yes, I expect there will be We'll have to inoculate ourselves At least annually. That's my guess. I know I'm not completely sure but that's if I had to guess yes, and I'm stocking Israel's Shelf so to speak with with vaccines with that assumption of course You know, I want to sign contracts for future purchases based on the idea that the vaccines will alternate for example They're now testing for children and by the way I think they should test in parallel several ages with reduced doses and not do a serial testing system I spoke about that to both Abid Borla and Stefan Bancel because I think you can cut a lot of time There's a lot of bureaucracy in this stuff and where you can cut time you should but as we proceed with either new vaccines or modified vaccines for mutations and Modified the vaccines for teenagers and children then I think we should We should stock them and deliver them and I expect this yes I expect this to be exactly like the flu probably more so than the flu. That's the first thing and will that You asked the sorry the second question was it was also related to the whole effective the vaccines Will be and are on the current and new strains from South Africa Yeah, well, I think I think it's just a question of time that you're going to get right now the vaccines these two vaccines Moderna and Pfizer are Overcome the various strains that have appeared that we know about and that they've tested But if you ask me statistically, it's just Probabilistically, okay, it's just a question of time and I'm not sure a lot of time I'm not don't pretend to be an expert on vaccines, but I think that from what I can ascertain from talking to the people who Are experts in this is just a question of time before we hit a strain that the current vaccines are not Susceptible to it and because of that the risk that that would happen. I shut down the airports I'm the first country in the world to totally shut down Commercial flights totally no commercial flights nothing if we have emergency flights We have the Air Force or private carriers, but the idea and I'm shutting the land borders, too I'm just shutting it down because You know, what's the point? all the all the mutations that you see today the South Africa and the British the Brazilian and so on That's already too you're two weeks too late You know, they've already gone and the new ones you wouldn't know about for another several weeks or whatever So I've shut down the borders too because I can do something that other countries I think would like to do too they might be able to do it and that is to Inoculate millions of people in the time that I closed the country and try to win the race between mutation and vaccination Well, thank you so much Prime Minister We know that we have limited time. So I wanted to go know first to Stefan Usman chair and Of the executive board and CEO of mark Stefan are you with us? I think you're ready for asking a question to the Prime Minister. Thank you. Thank you very much prime minister Israel has such a vibrant Innovation ecosystem and I wanted to ask you a question that goes beyond anemic My company mark has been In Israel for more than 50 years. We we're working closely with many institutions You know, I are friends at the Weitzman Institute or Hebrew University are like family members family members To us and we have R&D centers in different businesses in biopharma in life science in in Electronic in electronic materials Israel has as I said such a vibrant scene you have more PhDs per capita than anywhere else you have this Incredible innovation Network you have high-ranking government officials rolling out a Very clear policy and we have so many things to tackle through science and technology Within this pandemic and beyond the pandemic I had the chance to discuss these topics with you together with Chancellor Merkel Could you tell us what would be your advice to other nations? How can we use science and technology? to to Tackle these problems and do the right do the right thing for our countries. What can we learn from Israel? Well, first of all, thank you mr. Usman for Your leadership and for being involved with Israel because we appreciate These cooperations enormously I think I think the key is two things most people think it's education and it is That is the level of education, especially higher education is critical And we've had that all along but that is a necessary but insufficient Condition for the emergence of of high-tech or innovative Economy I mean the most important one And I would even put it before education as free markets You cannot really innovate and close markets So you have to give free markets and you have to you have to take certain risks Because some of that innovation in our case comes comes especially from the military. That's where we've had Our stock of innovation, especially it We invest at some cost we invest a huge amount of our national resources on and maintaining Effective intelligence Israel's small country, but it has a giant head giant I mean its collection agencies are In the west probably number two in size absolute size. It's not the NSA, but it's Not one 40th of the NSA. That's our relative size compared to the United States So that's an investment that goes annually all the time and it produces people who coast the information networks who develop Algorithms who are in all sorts of adjacent technologies And that and we take our best brain power to do that We literally canvass the whole country And we put our finest brains in these disciplines these and other disciplines So that's some cost and won't go very far Unless these people can when they leave the military or the Mossad or wherever They can start their businesses and if they if they Find a web of bureaucracy and ridiculously high taxes, which Israel had for years They'll go elsewhere like my brother-in-law was a pilot in a very gifted High-tech guy who went to california and worked for this Small company called into you know, but his son is One of the great, you know, I was a young guy He's going to be he's in israel now because the environment change we changed the environment. We made it A very pro business environment We just submitted to the commission the last one which is absurd that we didn't have it, but you is really insurance funds and Pension funds could not invest angel investment In high-tech was not possible. We just changed that So everything you saw is still carrying a burden of bureaucracy and that's our our growth opportunity is our bureaucracy Everything you see in israel this fantastic growth has been done with the iron boot of bureaucracy Holding down the spring of additional innovation and the best growth Possibility that we have and any country has it's just removing it and let the spring move out You just get 10 years of growth for nothing just by reducing these absurd things I'm telling you this because I chair very few ministerial committees defense and foreign affairs. That's clear But I chair another committee which is deregulation And we move from being close to last place in the old city next to the last place Of those city in five years. We moved 18 places because every two weeks I sit down with this regulation. I or My director general and we just cluck cluck clash slash as much as we can So I would say deregulate open up your economies In addition to having education if you have you happen to require a military make sure it's focused on brains brains before brawn That's essentially the story of what is well is done Thank you so much prime minister fighting a red tape, but also I looked at the numbers I think israel is number one in the world when it comes to allocating ft to It's universities and also different Education and free markets. It really is so we have two CEOs to go. So what I will suggest prime minister with your permission that we will take the two questions from the CEOs and then you can Answer and and will also be on swiss time. The first question is quite historic though because it's also a part of the Abraham accord. We have a leading co from the ua with us. So good to see you Hadim al-darae Vice chair and co-founder of al-dara holding Welcome a year ago. I guess I wouldn't necessarily have seen you In this session together with prime minister netanyahu. So Over to you Thank you, mr. Burge You're extremely. Thank you very much for your enlightening words If we learn a lesson from this pandemic Is the importance of medicine and food and when we talk about food I think we must address a very Very long-lasting issues which is water and environment You're essentially as you know, what is the most important national resource for the continuity and sustainability of life for human and for food production Many countries Are suffering from water scarcity and shortage Also from the pollution of its own resources Which makes a portable water is even scarcer as a code as a consequences many countries like yours Have taken the initiative to develop plans programs and strategy Aimed at preserving and developing water resources and preventing its contamination and pollution your excellency Do you think That the ongoing efforts on this front Are sufficient or would you need more efforts? At the global level to address such challenge How can an integrated global system help? and preserve And develop the environment while reducing the impact of climate change And pollution on the millions of people affected. Thank you very much Thank you, mr. Aldera. First, let me say that I'm everyone in israel is supremely delighted with the piece that we have It's a warm piece between the emirates and israel and bachrain Just tremendous. I have to say and now morocco and sudan Because it's a warm piece and it's going to be an economic it already is an economic piece. We barely signed the documents and the thousands tens of thousands of israelis went to dubai and Emiratis are coming to israel and the business people are just Going bananas. They're doing fantastic deals. It's going to be great because because the emirates approved to be uh, as I always seen them as The tremendously entrepreneurial and they're guided by a visionary leader muhammad ben zeid Sheikh muhammad is a visionary leader. He understands the power of innovation And the power to dare to dream and so, you know, he also dared and dream. We did this together to to have this new kind of piece that is changing The relations between israelis and arabs and I have to tell you arabs and jews in israel too. I mean, it's Unbelievable what this is doing. So now to answer your question I think water is going to be a huge challenge and I think we can overcome it as many other things with technology I mean, it's almost like, you know, why did uh, why did the great? forecast Not work out on the shortage of food You know and humanity's growth rate and so on it turns out the humanity did grow An exponential rate, but uh, but it turns out that food grew at a much greater rate because of technology. I mean, this is uh, obviously, uh The same thing is happening can happen with water. It did happen in water in the case of israel I mean, we had we have a little less rainfall Then we had the finding of the state 73 years ago. Our population has grown 10 fold gdp And gdp per capita has multiplied. So we should have water scarcity Now we should have water wars and we have neither What we have is we just make our water or we save our water We recycle about 90 of our wastewater Which is first in the world and the next one running up is spain with about 20 i think So we recycle recycling technology key Production technology of new water key. Uh, we have I think the world's largest one of the largest perhaps the leading, uh Something you have in the emirates as well distillation desalination desalination plants along the Mediterranean and we're using solar technology We intend to be a world leader The world leader in 10 years and producing solar energy and so we can We can desalinate water without using Without a necessary pollution And these things are combined. So we have shown we now have more water than we need if we need more water We make it since we you can't make it at night time and in winter months And you sometimes make more than you need in the summer. We're reverse reversing Our supply from the sea of Galilee, which we use to carry water down to the parts south of our country We're actually pushing water back to the reservoir We're pushing it in the other direction during the uh The winter time. So I think these these are creative things how to prevent leakage and so on from Water systems pipes you can you can use technology. You can overcome the world's water problems We are sharing this with countries from china to you name it South america africa We we share this technology gladly because I think we're as as corona has shown us we're all in one boat We really one boat if we can plug the holes in the boat, we'll all be better off Thank you We're all glad that maltus was terribly wrong and we support more crop per drop. We have one more question left I don't want to have such a leader as nikesha aurora cio and chair of palo alto networks I'm not having a chance to come with this question. Nikesh floor is yours Thank you board Prime minister, thank you very much for your insights. You may not remember seven years ago. We met in davos, and you told me How israel is a powerhouse in cyber security and seven years later? I find myself running one of the largest cyber security companies in the world Now we've had a phenomenal cooperation with israel. We have some great people We've been able to work with acquire. They're a very large team in tello east So thank you very much for your leadership on that as well You alluded to some of the reasons why Even seven years ago and even recently with stefan's question on why you were able to turn israel into a powerhouse On the cyber topic with that becoming so topical today with all the recent hacks you learned about I'd love to get more a little more elaboration on how you how you will continue to develop that one and two Given that we're a large You know from our sense one of our largest offices is tello. We've talking about the cutting bureaucracy and moving 18 positions up. We'd love to see you continue to move up that ladder So it makes life easier for us to be able to operate in israel But also love to hear insights on how cyber security continues to be center stage in israel Well, nikesh, I can tell you that I've already acted on your behalf Although I can't tell you that it was my first goal because I had immense pressure immense pressure After we develop Basically a very robust cyber security industry Which meant basically allowing all these gifted people who leave our Cyber security units to form their companies and partner with people like yourselves your companies We had immense pressure from the people whose Job it is to protect our secrets to Uh begin to regulate cyber the way you regulate arms industry and I resisted it because I said that cyber is different because it's going to be Affecting every single thing that we do because we're digitizing the world. It's clear And you know as as that goes up cyber security Requirements go up and if we block that we block a growth industry And so on so so far I've felt the line. I want you to know Which is it's not it's not easy. I'm doing my part but What we have done is basically done that avoid excessive regulation Enable our the finest minds we have to go out and create their companies which they do And it's very robust. I think we're number two right now in the world In absolute formation of companies and capital investments in cyber and we're a country of 9 million people And the other thing that we do is And and I think it's it's important is that some cost that I described to you Of our cyber security units and our information our intelligence units We are moving to the south of the country and allowing a whole Um, what you call the jargon ecosystem to develop around it, which basically says you just you take The military you take the academy and you take the businesses and you put them in within I listen to this You put them within walking distance walking distance And in Palo Alto, I don't know if it's walking distance or jogging distance But you actually you think that's unimportant. It's Amazingly important, you know to have that interaction so that uh, you know, the fermentation takes place Allow foreign companies And governments to partake in this Obviously within certain limits, but try to Lower the limits Uh and and keep your taxes low and keep your regulation though. That's basically what we're doing now that That's for the industrial side of For the business side of it I think that cyber presents new problems big problems, um I think the biggest problem is that If you have real big actors state actors The problem of deterrence in cyber is different from the problem of deterrence and other forms of attacks So the defense is somewhat more complicated. We took a national Defense agency Established it gave it authority to regulate businesses and so on and we really organized the question of defense national defense the air force whatever um critical facilities on the one side and businesses This is a huge. I mean, this is conceptual. I think one of the most challenging things and you know, the most difficult The most complex problem conceptually is to simplify A complex thing. So try to simplify it and give it clear foundations but The defense against cyber attacks, especially state cyber attacks Is complicated Uh, and I'm not sure I want to get into that But I think that's becoming a big part in addition to cyber crime and And and everything else that you fully familiar with I guess that's Yeah, please go ahead The attribution piece is a is a problem when you want to retaliate, isn't it? No, I think you know, I think you know Uh, a lot of times actually you do know but, uh Then it gets into the question of mind games, you know, I I don't want to Start playing those games, you know, and you know, I I'm sort of off duty now I'm doing this for a living every every day or so, you know, so I'd rather not get into that But I think I think it's very challenging. Uh, the one thing I would say To to deal with niggas's problem a question It is not merely to not over-regulate if you have the investments already we do all the time But the question is how much do you want to direct? Your funding State funding I'm always resistant to that, you know, I don't usually direct I worked in the Boston consulting group. So You know, there was a Case study there of actually doing a strategy for a country and I felt very uneasy with that because I think the best regulator is market forces It really Allows you let the markets work and they'll usually choose better than you do But we don't have a choice certainly in defense matters. We don't have a choice Uh, and in cyber really the investment the most important investment You can make in cyber other than having the free economy that we need for any innovation The most important investment you can make in cyber is mathematics There's a lot of mathematics a lot of mathematics Uh, and I say mathematics and not just computation Because I think mathematics Is more important and it's going to be more important as we move along into Other disciplines mathematics is it so that's it. It's like I find myself like being in that that Man in the film the graduate remember plastics Mathematics Thank you so much, uh prime minister, uh, you know, we could have gone on uh, because it's fascinating to listening I listen to you But I remember when I was a young speechwriter in the parliament The person that I was writing the speeches for said end before people want you to end but uh and here we We we still could have continued people wanted you to continue prime minister, but I think we ended at a good time Thank you for the answers and looking forward next year to see you back in in the real doubles In the winter. Thank you. Thank you. Morgan. I have to tell you this was the most diplomatic cutoff that I've heard congratulations. Thank you Thank you