Israel has signed a deal with the World Bank to join the bank’s “Global Practices” program according a report today in The Times of Israel.

The Times reports:

Under the agreement, which was signed on the Israeli side by Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, Israel will develop training courses in coordination with World Bank officials and representatives of client countries. The courses, to be developed and taught in Israel over the next two years, will focus on big data applications and cyber-security, agricultural technology, and water management technology. The Economy Ministry will contribute $500,000 in order to organize and run the courses in Israel. …

“The World Bank is keen to connect global expertise with clients. Israel is a leader in information technologies and their applications to areas like agriculture, irrigation, and cyber security,” said Pierre Guislain, senior director of the World Bank’s Transport and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Global Practice. “We are very happy that Israel has chosen ICT as the topic for its partnership with the Bank.”

According to the report the “Global Practices” program was initiated earlier this year in an attempt to “to provide countries with resources to help lift large segments of their population out of poverty.” The World Bank functions as a lender to governments “that have trouble raising capital on the open market.” Israel paid off its last World Bank loan in 1981.

The report observes that the deal could mean that “Israeli technology could end up in some odd places, ” as many countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia are clients of the bank.

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