PM to meet with WhatsApp CEO, Silicon Valley execs

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with several top Silicon Valley executives during a trip to California next week, including WhatsApp founder Jan Koum, who recently sold his company to Facebook for $19 billion.

Netanyahu is also set to sign a strategic partnership agreement with California Governor Jerry Brown to promote economic relations between Israel and the state of California. The partnership agreement is aimed at expanding cooperation in the fields of culture, academia, economics, innovation, water conservation, alternative energy, cyber defense, biotechnology, health, education and agricultural technology.

Under the terms of the agreement, Israeli companies will be granted access to California’s various innovation Hub programs, which aim to give startup companies and entrepreneurs a platform to develop their projects, leveraging the state’s assets such as research parks, technology incubators, universities, and federal laboratories.

Israel is the third country to sign such an agreement with California.

During his visit, Netanyahu will also meet with executives from Linkedin, Flextronics, eBay and Sequoia.