(JNS) United Arab Emirates Food and Water Security Minister Mariam al-Muhairi met on Wednesday, July 14, with representatives of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (H.U.) to promote a research and innovation partnership in the realms of food and agriculture technology, according to the university. The meeting marked the first official visit of a senior UAE government official to an Israeli academic institution since Israel and the UAE normalized ties in September of last year as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords.

“Hebrew U. is known as a world leader in foodtech and agtech,” said Professor Benny Chefetz, dean of the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment. “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 be better prepared.”

In addition to Chefetz, al-Muhairi met with H.U.’s Vice President of Strategy and Diversity professor Mona Khoury-Kassabri, faculty researchers and Agricora CEO Moshe Nadler. Among the topics discussed were plant adaptation to heat and desert-like conditions, intelligent uses of water and the latest innovations in agriculture, according to the university.

The meeting – which came a day after the first agricultural agreements were signed between Israel and the UAE – took place on the day of the official opening of the UAE embassy in Tel Aviv.

Main Photo: From left: Benny Chefetz, dean of the Hebrew University’s school of agriculture, UAE Minister for Food and Water Security Mariam al-Muhairi and Mona Khoury-Kassabri, H.U.’s Vice President of Strategy and Diversity. July 14, 2021. Credit: Yossi Zamir.