Netanyahu with Hewlett Packard CEO Megan Whitman
Netanyahu with Hewlett Packard CEO Megan WhitmanHaim Zach/GPO

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday met at the World Economic Forum in Davos with Hewlett Packard Enterprise President and CEO Meg Whitman.

Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for Hewlett Packard's connection with Israel and reviewed the many reasons why technology cooperation, especially in cyber, was worthwhile.

Netanyahu and Whitman discussed the potential possibilities in both northern and southern Israel vis-à-vis expanding HP's activity. Whitman noted her company's long-standing commitment to Israel, including billions of dollars in investments, and added that HP currently employs over 5,000 workers in Israel.

She also expressed HP's appreciation for Israeli initiatives and innovation and noted that they contribute to the company around the world. Also discussed was the expansion of HP's activity in Israel especially in 3-D printing and cyber.

Before his meeting with Meg Whitman, Prime Minister Netanyahu met with UBER co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick, a statement from his office said.

On Thursday, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and afterwards with Secretary of State John Kerry. He will also meet with Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The Prime Minister will hold a unique meeting with global cyber industry senior figures and managing directors on advancing cyber defense. Participants will discuss cyber threats to information and physical systems and their implications on the development and assimilation of innovative technologies, and evaluate the economic, social and strategic risks posed by these threats. They will also consider the unique cooperation required between governments and the business sector in order to be prepared to ensure the ability to use the cyber revolution for the benefit of global social welfare and economic growth.

Finally, Netanyahu will hold a public dialogue, on the World Economic Forum's main stage, with senior CNN correspondent Fareed Zakaria.

During the dialogue, the Prime Minister will present the opportunities the State of Israel is offering to multi-national companies and emphasize the technological leadership of the Israeli high-tech industry in order to expand cooperation between these companies and Israeli companies and encourage investment and acquisitions in Israel.

A report presented last week by Israel-based IVC Research Center and law firm Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal found that Israeli startups were sold for a total of $9.02 billion in 2015. This rate shows an increase by more than 16 percent from 2014.

This exit sum puts 2015 as the third-highest exit sum in the last decade, with 2006 ranking as the highest and the 2012 exit sum coming in at a close second.

The report said that 96 Israeli high-tech and startup companies were sold in 2015 and an additional eight companies went public. These figures are in line with the 10-year average.