The US Embassy in Israel and Ministry for Social Equality on Tuesday held in the city of Nazareth the first high-tech conference which introduced Arab entrepreneurs and American and Israeli investors.

The conference was attended by Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel (Likud) and the US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. 30 leading startups from the Arab sector took part in the conference and dozens of investors from Israel and the United States.

Among the companies which made presentations were Termamount, Optima, Mindolife, Healthimiz and Senso Medical.

The conference is a joint American-Israeli effort to integrate Arab entrepreneurs in the high-tech industry, encourage economic growth and create new business partnerships between Israelis and Americans. Even though Arabs constitute more than 20 percent of the Israeli population, they represent only 8 percent of Israel's GDP and only 3 percent of high-tech workers in Israel are Arab citizens.

“This gives us hope and strength to continue the path for a better future for all,” said Friedman at the conference.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what your background is, what your religious beliefs are. What matters is that we all live together, work together in a place that provides equal opportunities and respect. A place where we are all enriched by our diversity,” he added.