UAE, Israeli firms sign agreement on coronavirus R&D

The Emirati APEX National Investment company has signed a “strategic commercial agreement” with Israel’s Tera Group to cooperate on research and development related to COVID-19, including a testing device, UAE state news agency WAM reported.

The deal “is considered the first business to inaugurate trade, economy and effective partnerships between the Emirati and Israeli business sectors, for the benefit of serving humanity by strengthening research and studies on the novel Coronavirus”, WAM quoted APEX’s chairman Khalifa Yousef Khoury as saying.

The agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, just two days after Israel and the UAE announced an agreement that will lead to full normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two.

It also came after a phone call between US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi.

“The United Arab Emirates and Israel will immediately expand and accelerate cooperation regarding the treatment of and the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus,” the two countries said in a joint statement.

Delegations from Israel and the UAE will meet in the coming weeks to sign agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications and other issues, the joint statement said.

“TeraGroup’s BioSafety testing is conducted in selected countries around the world, including the Emirates Field Hospital in Abu Dhabi, with plans to expand the testing to cover the entire UAE,” WAM said.

In June, the UAE said two of its private companies and two Israeli companies would work together on medical projects, including to combat the new coronavirus.

Two state-owned Israeli defence contractors in July announced partnerships with Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42 to develop technologies to help fight the new coronavirus.