Washington and Jerusalem sign landmark AI and critical technologies pact

“Shared supply chains are actually more powerful than shared ideology.” That principle, articulated by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg, framed both the message and the substance of a landmark U.S.–Israel agreement signed Friday in Jerusalem — and the broader regional vision Helberg laid out in an interview with i24NEWS.

Israel and the United States signed a joint statement on Friday launching a strategic partnership on artificial intelligence, research, and critical technologies as part of the Pax Silica initiative. 

The signing ceremony took place at the City of David in Jerusalem and was attended by Helberg, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Israel’s Head of the National AI Directorate Brig. Gen. (Res.) Erez Eskel, and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

The agreement follows Israel’s accession last month to Pax Silica, a U.S.-led framework bringing together leading nations in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies. 

Out of nine leading countries in the field, Israel was chosen as the first to sign a formal Joint Statement with Washington.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the move marked “another step in advancing the State of Israel toward global leadership in Artificial Intelligence, as part of the flagship goals of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”

At the ceremony, Helberg emphasized the strategic nature of the partnership.

“With the launch of Pax Silica, the US and Israel are uniting our innovation ecosystems to ensure the future is shaped by strong and sovereign allies leading in critical technologies like AI and robotics.” Speaking at the City of David, he added: “we are declaring that we are not creatures of circumstance, but the creators of history—building a new era of security and prosperity together.”

In an interview with i24NEWS on the sidelines of the event, Helberg placed the agreement within a much wider geopolitical context, arguing that the October 7th attack crystallized a defining regional struggle. According to him, the Middle East is increasingly split between two opposing camps. 

He described one as the old Middle East, “which is poor dogmatic fanatical, which is coming out of Iran and its proxies.” By contrast, he said a new regional axis is taking shape: “rich dynamic and forward-looking, including Israel Saudi that UAE and Qatar.”

That divide, Helberg stressed, is already influencing real-world economic and strategic decisions.

“A big part of the Middle East is ready to look to the future and I thought that it was incredibly important to continue making progress on the economic partnership of between Israel and his partners in the region around the need to secure supply chains irrespective of what's going on with Iran because this is about continuing and finishing the project, advancing the new Middle East, promoting the place of the new Middle East in our global supply chain strategy and ultimately that is the the ultimate prize that against the old Middle East.”

Asked whether Gulf countries he recently visited — including Saudi Arabia and Qatar — attempted to relay messages to Washington urging restraint against a potential strike on Iran, and whether those messages were conveyed through him, Helberg declined to address diplomatic signaling.

“My focus is entirely on economic policy, I'm going to let those governments speak for themselves with the words they want to use, in the press without much to add.”

He did, however, elaborate on the expanding cooperation between Israel and Gulf states, including countries that are not formal signatories to the Abraham Accords, underscoring a pragmatic approach driven by shared interests rather than ideology.

“Israel and the UAE work together on a lot of different fronts. ultimately the president's been clear that we want more countries to sign Abraham accords and that's the key goal. we're very proud, the Trump administration is very pragmatic we want to secure a supply chains and so we are very focused on that we're very happy that a lot of countries have been also very pragmatic and have been willing to co-sign the pax silica without being a signatory to the Abraham accords but ultimately we think that's a reflection of the fact that shared supply chains are actually more powerful than shared ideology and the supply chain challenge impacts all of us, it's also an opportunity for all of us and it's okay, solving it can be an engine of growth and I think that's why everyone wants to have a piece of and so we're very excited about the opportunity of working with the Israelis as well as working with the UAE and the qataris”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar echoed the strategic significance of the agreement, calling it proof of the depth of the bilateral relationship.

“Today's statement is further proof of the undeniable fact: Just as the United States is indispensable for Israel, Israel is an indispensable asset for America and its National Security interests,” Sa’ar said, adding that Israel intends to further invest in the initiative.

Sa’ar later emphasized the technological dimension of the partnership:

“Our AI partnership—through Israel’s tech community and cutting-edge start-ups strengthens America’s position as the global leader in emerging technologies and supply chains. When America leads the world technologically, the world is a more secure place.”

Ambassador Huckabee also highlighted the unique nature of the alliance.

“I often say that America has many friends and allies, but we have only one true partner in Israel,” he said. “Israel and the United States and Israel intend to continue their deep, durable partnership through joint research, development, investment, and commercialization across a broad range of strategic sectors.”