Japan and Israel have held a forum in Tel Aviv to promote cooperation between businesses in the two countries.

About 250 people from Japanese and Israeli business circles took part in the event in Israel’s commercial hub on Monday.

Japan’s economy, trade and industry minister, Nishimura Yasutoshi, and his Israeli counterpart, Nir Barkat, also attended.

They looked on as Japanese telecom giant NTT Group signed a memorandum of cooperation with Israeli startup D-ID which has technology combining the metaverse and generative artificial intelligence.

Noa Asher, CEO of NTT Innovation Laboratory Israel said, ” We believe that the platform that was created by D-ID can be used for many different products and services. There is a lot of possibility and potential for the collaboration.”

Israel is home to many startups and is dubbed the Silicon Valley of the Middle East. About 90 Japanese firms have made inroads into Israel seeking new business opportunities.