Israeli company agrees to joint venture with Saudi counterpart

Israeli firm SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. and Saudi Arabian firm Ajlan & Bros Holding have agreed to a joint venture focused on developing Saudi Arabia's solar energy infrastructure, the firms announced in a joint statement on Monday.

The firms noted that the deal would be in line with Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030 economic overhaul programme, which aims to reduce the country’s dependence on oil and diversifying its economy into other sectors.

SolarEdge Technologies CEO Zvi Lando said the joint venture "will provide local enterprises in Saudi Arabia with the support they need to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels to clean solar energy and meet their aggressive renewable energy goals."

Ajlan & Bros Holding is a private sector conglomerate with a portfolio of 75 companies, many of which are actively involved in Vision 2030.

The agreement comes amid speculation that Saudi Arabia and Israel may normalise relations.

Last week, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan travelled to Jeddah to discuss the possibility of a normalisation deal between the two countries.

Saudi Arabia presented a number contentious guarantees that must be met before signing any normalisation deal, including a security pact with the US and assistance with a civilian nuclear programme.

It also includes points on Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, which has prompted some Israeli lawmakers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition to state that they would not agree to any concessions that involved the Palestinians in a normalisation deal with Riyadh.