UAE, Israel universities sign first higher education cooperation agreement

Universities in the UAE and Israel have signed a memorandum of understanding "to work together across a range of fields," the Emirates' state media WAM reported on 

Sunday.

The UAE's Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence – named after Abu Dhabi Crown Prince MbZ – and Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science have signed the first agreement between higher education institutes from the two countries.

The Emirati university made the announcement on Sunday, announcing in a tweet that it will cooperate with its Israeli counterpart on AI research and will set up a joint online institute for AI.

The agreement, held remotely, also paves the way to exchange programs between the two universities, according to a video released by the university.

The deal comes a month after the US-brokered UAE-Israel deal which established normalisation of relations between the two countries. In addition to opening up tourism opportunities and boosting weapons deals, the deal also established co-operation on technology and AI development.

Read also: Israeli healthcare giant agrees technology deal with UAE

Last month, the UAE became the third Arab country to agree to normalise ties with Israel, after Egypt signed a peace deal in 1979 and Jordan followed suit in 1994. Bahrain later followed the UAE to become the fourth Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

The Palestinians have slammed the UAE's move as a "stab in the back" while their own conflict with Israel remains unresolved.

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