TEL AVIV:- The Chairman of Israel's Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI), Dr. Samer Haj-Yehia, participated this week in a series of international conferences in the Persian Gulf to promote regional economic collaborations. Among others, Dr. Haj-Yehia convened at the Abu Dhabi Financial Week (ADFW) 2022 with global financial leaders, including H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of The Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office and H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), to discuss a spectrum of current economic issues including financial technology and innovation. Haj-Yehia is also due to speak at the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa (MEA) Summit in Abu Dhabi, which brings together global thought leaders, senior executives, investors, government officials and philanthropists to tackle urgent challenges and promote regional collaborations between Africa and the Middle East.

In his keynote address at the opening event of ADFW, Dr. Haj-Yehia mentioned that "Fintech in the Middle East is a Blue Ocean. Bank Leumi, which is one of the top three banks in the region, is known to technologically advanced, with hundreds of millions of dollars invested annually on technology and innovation".

"Leumi would be more than happy to establish joint ventures with like-minded banks from the region in order to advance the banking ecosystem and customer experience", said Haj-Yehia. "We are already in discussions with several key players in the region and would like to introduce a high-level of AI and cybersecurity protection, while building a regional SupperApp".

These events are yet another step in strengthening economic ties between Bank Leumi and countries in the Middle East. Within this framework, last month Dr. Haj-Yehia spoke at the international conference of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was the first public visit of a senior Israeli executive to the country. Last week Dr. Haj-Yehia attended the UN Climate Change Conference held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

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