The Abraham Accords – the treaties named for Abraham, the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity that normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan facilitated by the US in 2020 – have brought about some spectacular collaborations.  

Hicham El Habti, the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) president in Morocco, led a delegation of 10 UM6P senior managers and researchers to Ben-Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev in Beersheba on Tuesday. The visit follows an agreement signed between the two universities last October to collaborate on research. 

The delegation included high-level representatives in the fields of cyber, medical services, agriculture, business, economics, and more. The two universities will collaborate on several areas critical to human survival –

food security, ecological restoration, smart agriculture in a changing climate, water, remote sensing, alternative energy, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. 

The delegation visited the Marcus Family Campus in Beersheba and the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research in Sde Boker, less than an hour’s drive from the university.

BGU President Prof. Daniel Chamovitz said: “BGU and UM6P have much in common. From their desert settings to their focus on applied research and innovative teaching methods, the two universities are well suited to collaborate on sustainability and climate change projects. Both universities are committed to thriving in the desert in a ‘green’ environment, and both look outward – focused on helping our regions, countries, and the world.”

El Habti responded: “We are confident that our partnership with Ben-Gurion University – one of the leading research universities in Israel and a top university worldwide in sustainability amongst many other fields – will contribute to our research priorities. We have a joint vision to advance innovative research and technologies critical to the Earth’s future.”

***