Approximately 100 San Francisco and Silicon Valley executives are visiting Israel to examine possibilities of investment and cooperation with Israeli companies. Israel has emerged as a worldwide leader in high technology development, and is the third ranking country in the number of listings on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Mayor Gavin Newsom is leading the high-level mission, which was organized by San Francisco’s Jewish Community Federation. Among participating California business leaders are the chief executive officer of Cytokineteics, a leading biopharmaceutical company, and the co-founder of Ariba, a software company. They will meet with government ministers and Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Stanley Fischer.