 Mr. President, my dear friend, Abu Dhabi, welcome back to Davos. We could not be more pleased than have you here as the President of Israel, and I also know that that is the case in Israel. As President, you won more votes than any presidential candidate in Israel's history receiving 87 votes in the Knesset. And you are also a man of the world, Mr. President, and we know how popular you are among the Jewish communities in the diaspora, as well as among the leaders of other religious communities in Israel. When you were the President of the Jewish Agency, you marked bridging the gap between the Jewish people and the State of Israel as one of your key objectives. You are also an important coalition builder for which you receive support from across the political spectrum. You are able to connect and bridge gaps between all of the groups in Israeli society to identify what people have in common and what unites them. And I'm saying this because I know it. We have met so many times in Israel, and I have seen you as a leader on the ground building coalitions. Your leadership was also a key factor in advancing a decisive regional political process over the past year. And you made the first-ever Israeli state visit to the United Arab Emirates in January this year. Two months later, you met Turkey's leader Erdogan, and you recently also went on an official visit to a man, Jordan, as the first one for a long time or ever. So, Mr. President, as President of Israel, you have in many ways expanded and transformed this office, and you have been able to navigate the political system while acting as a beacon for those looking to engage with the Israeli political arena. In that sense, you are a stabilizing force, and your presidential office has become a very important diplomatic asset for your country. It's so good to see you back in Davos as the President of Israel. Welcome. Thank you very much, my dear friend Borg-Brende. I must say, you know, you're not only an expert in so many fields, you're a real expert on Israeli politics. I can attest to that. And I'm also happy to be here, especially as I was a GLT, Global Leader of Tomorrow of the World Economic Forum, about three decades ago. So it worked well, as you can see. So welcome, all of you. We gather here at the World Economic Forum in Davos. After a two-year hiatus, as the world continues to gradually reemerge to normalcy. Yet we realize that the new normal is drastically different from the reality we've put on hold. After millions lost their lives in the paralyzing COVID-19 pandemic, the past few months have presented us with the unfolding tragedy in Ukraine. Our hearts break seeing the tragic devastation being inflicted on the people of Ukraine. The State of Israel continues to provide extensive humanitarian support to the Ukrainian people. The Israeli Field Hospital in Ukraine treated thousands of civilians. Thousands of Israeli volunteers are operating in Ukraine and around it to assist with humanitarian aid and relief. My wife, Michal, and I have been working to promote practical post-trauma and trauma treatments and psychological therapy for the people, especially the children of Ukraine, based on Israel's unique experience and capabilities in these fields. We remain eager to address the physical and emotional needs of everyone suffering from this humanitarian crisis. This is not the normal for which we had hoped. Ladies and gentlemen, it is also noteworthy that the past two years have afforded opportunities for profound historic shift. Chief amongst them, from the Israeli and regional perspective, are the Abram Accords. A set of groundbreaking agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors for peace and normalization. The courageous efforts of leaders at the forefront and supported behind the scenes who made these agreements a reality under the auspices of the United States of America are realigning the Middle East. In January of this year, I had the honor of paying an official visit to the United Arab Emirates as President of the Jewish Democratic State of Israel. This was only two weeks after the passing of my mother, Orah Herzog. Jewish tradition provides mourners with a beautiful prayer called the Kadish, expressing deep faith in God even in times of loss and is said daily. Reciting this prayer in Abu Dhabi, praying for my Egyptian-born mother, I thought about how astonished she would have been to see her son, the President of the Jewish State, praying freely, equal among equals in a Muslim country beside fellow sons of Abraham. Ladies and gentlemen, an outburst of energy is sweeping through the region, energy of change that will dictate how the next generation grows up. I often envision the 10-year-old boy or girl, somewhere in the Middle East, who sees her or his Muslim leader speaking openly with a Jewish head of state, who sees the Israeli flag fluttering proudly as Israel's Prime Minister or Defense Minister are welcomed to summits in Sharma Sheikh Rabat Manama, and so our Foreign Minister, who sees the President of Israel warmly received at the Royal Palace in Amman and the Presidential Palace in Ankara, and who sees an Israeli President flying two weeks ago directly to Abu Dhabi to console its new ruler on the passing of his beloved brother, as I just did. A child who grows up with such a deep message of hope will mature into an inspired young adult for whom peace is a reality and not a distant dream. This hope is the greatest revolution brought about by the Abraham Accords, and we are seeing this dramatic sea change throughout the Middle East. Warm winds of cooperation, dialogue and understanding are blowing through the region. People to people, non-profits, businesses, tourism, the change is apparent in virtually every sector and is enhancing the entire region. This is true of our new partnerships with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Morocco, as well as our deeply respected traditional partners Egypt and Jordan. The encouraging opportunity to turn a new leaf with Turkey and the evolving collaboration with countries in the region with which we are eager to formalize relations fills me with great optimism. I call on all countries and nations for near and afar to join these winds of change, partner with Israel, lead the future, and make history. Dear friends, we're all well aware that as this thrilling momentum grows, so does the motivation of dark forces be they individuals, groups or radical regimes to inflame tensions and ignite violence. Those who wish to keep the Middle East stuck in the old paradigm of hatred and terror whilst undermining the new paradigm of trust and directing the rampant hatred towards the state of Israel, its people, and Jewish people around the world. We must all make it clear to them that the state of Israel is here to stay forever. Our principal struggle currently, unfortunately, is against the Iranian regime, which systematically undermines the stability of the region. Israel and all nations of the world cannot accept Iran's pursuit of nuclear capabilities, recognizing the threat it poses to Israel and the entire Middle East. Iran spreads hate, terror, pain, and suffering. Time and again, we have seen how every country or region infiltrated by Iran has had a life sucked out of its people and its land. Prosperity, human liberty, creativity, growth, all are erased. We have seen this in Iraq, we've seen this in Yemen, we've seen this in Gaza, we've seen this in Syria, and we've seen this in Lebanon. Take Lebanon as an example. Beirut was once termed in the Paris of the Middle East. Lebanon is a country and people with which Israel has not the slightest reason for a conflict. It is painfully disturbing and sad to see the catastrophe of Lebanon, a country continuously collapsing into poverty and pain. Israel is eager to share its prosperity and successes with all its neighbors to break down barriers imposed by Iran's influence. I truly believe that if we only choose the forces of light, the path to a drastically different, brighter future is closer than we can imagine. We will always extend our hand for peace to all our neighbors, from the Levant to the Gulf, from the Maghreb to the Mashraq, from our immediate neighbors the Palestinians to the entire Muslim world, and also to the entire continent of Africa and the entire Middle East. We all owe it to our children to find a way to hear each other and to work together to expand the zone of understanding despite wide gaps and conflicting narratives. We expect of others what we demand of ourselves to be attuned to the truth, even when the truth hurts, to not buy into fake news and to dare to work together to chart a different course. In order to secure a safe future for everyone in the Middle East, we must outline a nuanced, multifaceted approach incorporating geopolitical, climatic, and social needs. We must work together regionally to fundamentally change our approach to our planet, to harness revolutionary technologies, to create far-reaching prosperity, health, and well-being for our peoples, to embrace a new paradigm of tolerance, dialogue, and trust, because together we can shape not only a new Middle East, but a renewable Middle East, a new regional alliance for stable and sustainable future, a Middle East that thrives as a global hub of sustainable solutions in food, water, and health, that serves as a source of energy, mostly solar energy, to Europe, Asia, and Africa. And it's been done these very days, a renewable Middle East, a region that is not only new in the sense of different, but is sustained by its own positive momentum, developing collaborative defense systems, joint infrastructure, and shared technologies for improving the world. So, ladies and gentlemen, too much has happened over these two years for us to go back to the old normal. We cannot treat our future as we have done in the past. We must change breaking paradigms, setting ambitious goals, and committing to overcome every obstacle. We remain fully committed to the freedom of religion and worship, to deep respect towards all faiths in the Holy Land, and of course, to upholding democratic values. Let us harness this momentous shift to foster interpersonal dialogue, people to people, heart to heart. By working with countries and nations of the region, with the support of this distinguished World Economic Forum, we have an opportunity to build a future of peace, prosperity, and progress for all the sons and daughters of Abraham. Let us work towards this renewable Middle East, cultivating a shared, sustainable future for all our children. If we lead with action, our hearts will follow suit. Thank you all very, very much. Thank you so much, Mr. President, for that very warm and visionary speech. You did mention the Abrams Accords. It is already giving yields. One billion US dollars now in trade. Only with the UAE? Yeah. We have trade with all other countries. Immense. I was coming to that. Sorry. Please. No, no, you're the president. No, no, no, my friends. So the Abrams Accords are giving a lot of yield. And how do you see this also for enlarging the scope of cooperation? Because I know you're a very ambitious man. So I guess you have some more plans to expand. I'll tell you, we are seeing it in all levels of life. I'm not speaking about just mere visits. We are seeing interest on all economic scientific innovation levels. But I'll tell you more about the personal feelings I have received two delegations last week, which showed me the great change. One was a delegation of young opinion makers from Morocco who have aligned on Facebook with an Israeli NGO of the age group. They both came and sat with us for an hour. And it was just amazing to listen to the experience of breaking barriers and moving forward and intertwining with each other. The next day, I received a delegation of Pakistani expats who live in the United States, but they are proud Pakistanis together with other members of other countries in their region. And I must say this was an amazing experience because we haven't had a group of Pakistani leaders in Israel ever in such scope. And that all stemmed from the Abram Accords, meaning Jew and Muslim can dwell together in the region, of course, with Christians who live in the region and Jews and other religions. And I will conclude my answer on this with another example because I just met with a Prime Minister of Greece, Kiryakos Mitsotakis. So, you know, Israel has an alignment with Greece and Cyprus. And Israel is signing now with Greece an agreement on interconnecting electricity. I'm not speaking about the gas, which is a big interest of many. I'm speaking about electricity, electricity which will flow through Israel to Greece and therefore to Europe, through solar energy, which will be, of course, produced in the entire Middle East. It could be from Saudi Arabia or from Jordan, from the Gulf and so forth, Egypt. And it's an unbelievable projection because people realize that there is a potential. And I think the potential is insurmountable. It's great. You also mentioned with the President that you had visited Ankara and were received by President Erdogan. Is this a deep and genuine rapprochement? It's a very interesting and well-thought-of process, which President Erdogan and myself have started since my assuming office. One of its peaks, or the peak, was my historic state visit in Ankara and Istanbul in March. But today was the next phase. Today, Foreign Minister Cevutulu of Turkey visited Israel yesterday and today for what you'd call action item visit, an official visit under the auspices of Foreign Minister Lapid. And there we have, of course, discussed the whole array of topics in the relationship. Our vision is that we should be able to have a dialogue with all our neighbors and friends in the Mediterranean, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Eastern Mediterranean can develop and work together in so many issues. Take, for example, climate or clean water, sea, the Mediterranean Sea, let alone the Red Sea with other countries. So there's so much to do together for the well-being of humanity that we are moving forward. Now the process with Turkey, of course, is not a lullaby of Romeo and Juliet. It's a conversion of interests. It's a process that is tested on the ground with many topics to be discussed. We had our ups and downs with Turkey. You remember that here in Davos, by the way? On this stage. On this stage between President Peres and President Erdogan. I'm very pleased that I have an open frank dialogue with President Erdogan, which is leading in the right direction. No, thank you so much. But there are still some important GCC countries missing as part of the Abrams Accord. That is what I said. I call upon nations and peoples and states. So you think the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is next? I think that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a very important country in the region, a very important country in the region, and we would love to see developments in that direction. But it's a process that has to take its time, I guess. And President Biden is also visiting your country in the near future. But I'm also told he is also visiting the PA? Well, I think that's only natural. It happened with all previous presidents, and I think it's important to try and find hope between the people, the neighboring peoples. But we have seen flare-ups and conflicts on the West Bank and between the Palestinians and the Israelis lately. We've gone through a very difficult period throughout Ramadan and beyond. Nineteen Israelis were butchered and killed in hyena terrorist attacks. People going with their trolleys, with their children, and somebody with an axe comes and breaks their head and kills them with families in the last attack in Al-Ad, 16 orphans, immediately. So, of course, this is the story of the Middle East. We are trying to fight terror in any possible way. These terrorists came from Janine area. We take forceful action to undermine and catch them. And we understand that terrorism wants to undermine the process which I've just spoken of, the process of a joint prospect for peace, which could be achieved with all peoples. And we understand as well, you know, Gaza is controlled by Hamas, and Hamas is a proxy of Iran. And this is the regional game we're at. No, it's very, very challenging, also the humanitarian situation in the region. I think many people also wonder, Mr. President, we saw the killing of the CNN reporter Shireen Abouaklou, we've seen this is, of course, a very sad event. And it pains me, like it pains many Israelis. It comes under the circumstances of fighting terror in Janine following the assassination of so many Israelis. But what we've done since we are a transparent nation who knows to investigate many stories and the rule of law is supreme in our land, we've offered the Palestinians a joint investigation as to the circumstances of this very tragic event. Unfortunately, the Palestinians refused. They took the body, they took the bullet, and one cannot substantiate any one of the scenarios without those facts. And Israel was open and transparent and offered the United States to join this process of investigation as well, because we pay high importance to the freedom of speech and the work of journalists and media channels, and we respect them. And there could be a few scenarios, by the way, and we've already in the past gone through cases where we were blamed and the truth transpired later that there was a lot of fake facts. So that's what I said. Don't base yourself on any fake facts. Study the facts. Facts can be studied scientifically. Unfortunately, the Palestinians refused to cooperate. Mr. President, you also have been a strong speaker on anti-Semitism. Right. And unfortunately, we're seeing this also in Europe in the 21st century. It is unbelievable, of course, but that is a fact. So what is your message to world leaders when it comes to anti-Semitism and racism today? So unfortunately, we're seeing a sharp rise in anti-Semitic events all throughout the world, especially in certain countries, but not only. And part of it is a product of hate speech, especially on the web, blaming the Jews for if it's corona, it's corona, if it's Ukraine, it's Ukraine. There's always somebody blaming the Jewish people throughout history. We know the price of anti-Semitism, how tragic it can be, how awful it can be, and it requires a staunch combat against it in various forms. Number one, of course, is legislate and adjudicate, meaning make sure that nations adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism in their laws and implement it with prosecutions and investigations. Number two is, of course, protect the Jewish communities wherever they are. It requires governments to protect. And number three, in my mind, the most important of all is to educate, to educate what it is the Jewish people, what it is anti-Semitism, what it is the nation state of the Jewish people after 2,000 years of pursuit for homecoming. And it requires a lot of joint efforts, which we are focused on myself, of course, the Israeli government, very much so, together with other governments. But at the end, it goes to the heart, you realize it, to educate people. And you come from Norway, in a neighboring country, Sweden, of yours, there were recently a lot of anti-Semitic attacks. And I'm asking myself, why and the Swedish government held a major conference, which I spoke at a few months ago, in Malmo, where there were many attacks. And I think that sets an example of how to deal with the core issues of dealing with anti-Semitism. Thank you for that important message. Maybe last question, everything good has to come to an end, but maybe end on optimistic note, because you know, I've been traveling a lot to your country. We've met many times. About time you've come back again. Yeah, I'm very eager to know in the COVID, post-COVID situation. But what always strikes me, of course, when you come to Israel, is that small country, when it comes to the area, is the entrepreneurial spirit, the Silicon Valley in Tel Aviv, and how has it been possible to build this kind of economic prosperity based on very limited natural resources? What can other countries learn from that spirit? So first of all, I must say, you know, I am here as the president of the state of Israel, the Israeli nation, which I'm extremely proud of. It has hidden light in so many facets of our society. And I, of course, I'm very proud and I love my country. And I believe that Israel does so much good to the world. And it comes from a raison d'etre of zestfulness for life. We are a nation that brought over Jews from over 100 countries into a melting pot, which has a non-Jewish minority of Muslims of all denominations, Christians of all the denominations, Druze and so many other beliefs. All of them in this melting pot, in a tiny area, intertwining and creating ideas out of the box. It's part of Jewish learning throughout the ages. It's part of the whole notion of debating, arguing, and casting doubt, which is something very deep in Jewish life. And so I very much believe in our ability to do good in so many fields. You've seen it in the corona. You're seeing it now in so many countries and underdeveloped countries and regions in the world, where Israelis are there. And of course, technology, which can heal the world and do good. So I invite all of you to come and see and enjoy. Thank you so much, Mr. President. A big applause to the President of Israel.