“The potential here is huge,” Samer Haj-Yehia, an Israeli-Arab, said at the Future Investment Initiative. He spoke of Saudi Arabia’s thriving economy, tech-savvy youth and high mobile penetration, while noting opportunities.

Arab-Israeli citizens make up about 20 percent of Israel’s population. Muslims from Israel have been allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia for religious pilgrimage, despite the lack of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

“Although he is an Israeli-Arab, and we can’t forget that Israeli Arabs travel to Saudi for the hajj every year, he didn’t come as a Muslim, but as chairman of Bank Leumi Le-Israel