First of its kind: Bar-Ilan, UAE universities sign academic collaboration

Israel's Bar-Ilan University has signed an agreement to academically collaborate with the UAE's Gulf Medical University.

Screenshot of the signing ceremony participants (photo credit: BAR ILAN UNIVERSITY)
Screenshot of the signing ceremony participants
(photo credit: BAR ILAN UNIVERSITY)
Israel's Bar-Ilan University signed an agreement to academically collaborate with the UAE's Gulf Medical University on Monday via Zoom. GMU is considered to be one of the leading private medical universities in the region. The joint medical research agreement aims to advance medical research and public health in the Middle East. 
“One of the most significant achievements of the Abraham Accords is the opportunity for academic collaboration between universities in Israel and the UAE," said BIU president Prof. Arie Zaban.
"Research and education in both countries will advance dramatically thanks to their human capital, which until now was unable to join forces for a common goal," he said. "We at Bar-Ilan University are proud to pave the way for such collaborative efforts in the fields of medical science and public health – fields in which we already play a leading role in Israel, by means of our innovative Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee.
"I have no doubt that additional Bar-Ilan faculties will soon follow suit and widen the scope of collaboration between Bar-Ilan and universities in the UAE,” Zaban said.
GMU Chancellor Prof. Hossam Hamdy shared Zaban's enthusiastic sentiment: “The meeting here in Ajman between our researchers and researchers from the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine was incredibly exciting, as is the signing of this agreement, which will at last allow us to move forward with our ambitious plans for collaboration.
"We have waited for this moment for a long time, and as soon as the Abraham Accords were signed, our management seized the chance for a mutually beneficial cooperation with our counterparts in Israel. We hope to visit Israel shortly, and that the management of Bar-Ilan University will likewise visit us here.”
Since the Abraham Accords were signed, Israel and the UAE have significantly developed relations in different spheres, including business, tourism and between the youth in both countries.