The wedding of different business cultures begins with overcoming stereotypes. The MERHAV Group, an Israeli multilateral family of companies with project development worldwide, recently closed a $2.5 billion deal to deliver Egyptian natural gas to the Israeli market. The contract, signed in July, was the first bilateral agreement since the Egypt-Israeli peace treaty some 25 years earlier. On top of the normal challenges in bringing such an accord to fruition were additional challenges, according to MERHAV Senior Vice President Nimod Novik, including bridging "a sea of mutual suspicions and two strikingly different business cultures. We sought the most potent Egyptian partner, and in a most un-Israeli fashion, followed his guidance carefully on all things Egyptian. He did likewise when it came to the Israeli scene."
As the Jewish marriage ritual calls on the community to gird the new relationship, this business venture drew on outside support. MERHAV knew that not only did it need to demonstrate economic viability, but it also needed backing at the highest levels of government in Israel and Egypt as well as among the international community. The project needed international visibility to generate "a political sexiness," Novik said, and thus an insurance policy for Israelis investing heavily in Egypt.
Despite the magnitude of this piece of business commerce, many Egyptians don’t know about the collaboration between Israel and Egypt, which disturbs Ezra. "The Egyptian economy is not flourishing, and the public there should know how Israel is contributing to the economy," he said. He knows that for business across borders to ultimately succeed, perceptions have to change.
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