(Jerusalem, July 14, 2021) — United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister for Food and Water Security Mariam Al-Muhairi met today with representatives of Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) to promote a research and innovation partnership based on FoodTech and Agtech. As part of her visit, Al-Muhairi met with HU’s Professor Mona Khoury-Kassabri, VP of Strategy and Diversity, Professor Benny Chefetz, Dean of The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, faculty researchers, and Moshe Nadler, CEO of Agricora.

This meeting marks the first official visit of a senior UAE government official to an Israeli academic institution since Israel and the UAE announced they would normalize ties as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

Among the topics discussed were plant adaptation to heat and desert-like conditions, intelligent uses of water, and the latest innovations in agriculture. Both Israel and the UAE are keenly interested in finding the most efficient use of their resources and in securing high-quality seed- and food production in this age of climate change and global warming.

As Dean Chefetz shared, “The UAE Minister’s visit to Hebrew University is both prescient and historic. Hebrew U. is known as a world leader in foodtech and agtech. We look forward to sharing our know-how with our neighbors in the Middle East so that we may meet the challenges of climate change together and better prepared.”