Israel and the United Arab Emirates plan to establish a joint research and development fund, the Prime Minister's Office said Monday, following an official visit by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to Abu Dhabi. The statement was also carried by the UAE's state news agency WAM.
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Bennett traveled to the UAE on Sunday, becoming the first Israeli primaries to visit the kingdom since the two nations normalized ties in 2020.
He met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed at his private palace in Abu Dhabi, and the two discussed a host of issues, including diplomacy, regional security, the Iranian threat, and bilateral trade and economic ties.
A Historic Meeting - Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was just received by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh @MohamedBinZayed at his private palace in Abu Dhabi.
????? pic.twitter.com/8XebQpwTDi— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) December 13, 2021
The Prime Minister's Office said that the new R&D fund "will harness the leading economic and technological minds in the UAE and Israel, tasking them with finding solutions to challenges such as climate change, desertification and clean energy."
Bennett reportedly told said the crown prince – the UAE's de facto ruler – that he has instructed the Israeli government to step up efforts to reach a free trade agreement with the UAE by the first quarter of 2022.
Israel-UAE bilateral trade in goods alone reached nearly $500 million so far in 2021, up from $125 million in 2020. It is expected to continue growing rapidly.
"Israel is in cooperation with a new friend, with a partner for the long-term, and the considerations will be both considerations of defense and also considerations of how you work with a country which is very, very, very friendly to Israel," Israeli Ambassador to Abu Dhabi Amir Hayek said prior to the leaders' meeting.
Meanwhile, students from UAE and Israel are also collaborating, taking on global issues.
A delegation of 16 high school students from Jerusalem arrived in Dubai this week to participate in a school exchange program between young Israelis and Emiratis.
The exchange was organized by Israel's PICO Kids Ambassadors program, which promotes collaboration between students from all over the world.
Youth from #Israel & the #UAE are working together to solve shared regional water problems!
A wonderful #designthinking based initiative of PICO Kids Jerusalem, which is putting into practice the vision of the #AbrahamAccords. (Thanks @fredman_a ) #SDGs #SDG6 #innovation pic.twitter.com/udaBUeiQnz— Social Impact Israel (@ImpactIsrael) December 7, 2021
Students participating in the program cooperate with each other to address important challenges facing the world, like climate change.
"Children have a particularly unique vantage point to act as innovators and conceive of new ideas in ways that adults might not be able to," co-founder and managing partner of PICO Venture Partners and PICO Kids Elie Wurtman told Israeli media.
According to Wurtman, the Abraham Accords represent a historic opportunity for all inhabitants of Israel and the Gulf countries, especially children.
This week's mission was developed in collaboration with several institutions and schools, including Target Global, Concert Together for Israel, the Taaleem Schools in Dubai, and the Abraham Accords Peace Institute.
While participating in the exchange, students from Israel will be paired with a counterpart from the UAE to address the problem of water scarcity during a "Makeathon" at the Dubai Future Foundation.
Since the initiative's establishment four years prior, the PICO Kids Ambassadors program has already been able to send delegations from Jerusalem to Hong Kong and Shanghai.
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