Economy Minister Nir Barkat apologized for his remarks at the Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth defense tech conference, in collaboration with the Chamber of Engineers, Architects and Academics in Technological Professions in Israel, in which he said that "only failed companies go public on the stock exchange." Barkat stated that "the Israeli stock exchange is the most important platform for trading securities of Israeli companies. I regret the unsuccessful wording of the idea."