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UAE Minister of State for Food and Water Security and Start-Up Nation Central to cooperate on promoting innovation

Tel Aviv - With Israel being home to the second largest AgriFood-Tech ecosystem in the world, Start-Up Nation Central was the natural gateway to introduce and connect the UAE food stakeholders.

The UAE Minister of State for Food and Water Security, Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Mheiri, and Start-Up Nation Central agreed to cooperate on promoting AgriFood-Tech innovation and startups.

The framework of cooperation aligns with her ministerial responsibilities and are in accordance with the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy 2051.

Start-Up Nation Central had the honour of hosting the minister at its Tel Aviv headquarters on Tuesday evening. She was accompanied by the UAE Ambassador to Israel, Mohamed Al Khaja, and met with the organisation’s leadership and select Israeli startups.

During the visit, Start-Up Nation Central’s team provided the minister and her team with in-depth data and insights on the Israeli innovation ecosystem, focusing on the Israeli AgriFood-Tech and Water-Tech sectors, which include about 400 companies – making it the world’s second largest hub.

The framework will facilitate both nations addressing their shared food and water security challenges. Start-Up Nation Central will scout and map the ground-breaking Israeli innovative solutions for the ministry to connect them with the relevant Emirati companies and government initiatives that can benefit from the Israeli solutions.

Al Mheiri said: "We recognise the instrumental role that innovation plays in advancing sustainable development. We also understand that small and medium size businesses are the lifeblood of dynamic, flexible, and resilient economies. With these factors firmly in mind, both our countries have created strong startup ecosystems that promote innovation, can respond to changing circumstances, and have the capacity to advance our respective development agendas. Engaging with Start-Up Nation Central is an important step in this direction as it creates a central hub for new businesses and enterprises that consolidates services in a single destination. We are delighted to have the opportunity to discuss potential partnerships with Start-Up Nation Central and to share our knowledge, expertise, and skills for our mutual benefit. We look forward to collaborating on identify synergies where we can work together.”

The new initiative builds on the successful collaboration between the UAE embassy to Israel and Start-Up Nation Central, who in April launched a joint task force to bring people together to share ideas and generate solutions and economic value for both countries.

Start-Up Nation Central’s Acting CEO, Chico Menashe: “I am confident that this visit will lead to further interactions and cooperation between our two nations’ business communities and companies. This visit and joint task force represent further advancements of business relations in the region, and we expect collaborations of this sort to thrive and extend also to other neighbouring countries."

— business@khaleejtimes.com