Israel will be joining an international effort to to invest in the developing world, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Friday.
A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said that Israel will devise solutions to help the United Nations meet its goals in the developing world, focusing on the fields of water, agriculture and nutrition, health, education and technology.
The U.N. says that it needs $4 trillion to meet is development goals by the 2030 target deadline.
On Sunday, the Israeli cabinet was set to approve the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee that will select developing countries for Israeli aid, with a focus on the areas in which Israel has what it calls a relative advantage: water management, advanced agriculture, qualitative and universal health services, innovation and advanced energy.
The committee will be headed by the director general of the Prime Minister's Office. Once the committee completes its work, it is expected to submit its recommendations for investment to Netanyahu and to Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon.
The developing world currently comprises approximately 55% of the global economy, and is projected to account for nearly two-thirds of the global economy in another 10 years. Private consumption in developing economies is also on the rise, and stands at $18 trillion per year. That figure is projected to expand to $30 trillion per year within a decade.
According to economic forecasts, 70% of the growth in global output in the coming decade will occur in developing countries.
Netanyahu called the initiative an "important step of the highest magnitude that joins a series of decisions that we are leading on the issue of strengthening economic ties with international markets, especially India, China, Africa and Latin America."
The prime minister added that the government would provide assistance to Israeli companies seeking to involve themselves in development activity, thereby increasing exports and accelerating growth while bolstering Israel's diplomatic standing.
