Arab-Israeli peace agreement fuels hope for increased scientific collaboration

A peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is expected to lead to an increase in scientific collaboration between the countries, promising joint research in space exploration, water and food security, along with exploration of the shared archaeological areas of the region. heritage.

For the first time since the founding of the UAE in 1971, Emiratis will be able to work and travel in Israel, and Israelis the same in the UAE. Previously, this was only possible in exceptional circumstances. Researchers will also be able to exchange materials, including biological samples and scientific equipment. The agreement to normalize diplomatic relations, dubbed the Abraham Accords, which also includes the Gulf state of Bahrain, was signed at the White House in Washington DC on September 15.

The experts said Nature that Emirati scientists could benefit from Israel’s well-established research base and collaborations with its technology companies, and that Israeli scientists could benefit from taking advantage of the UAE’s growing investment in research, diverse population, and technological infrastructure in areas such as computing.

“What excites me personally is that the UAE is beginning to see Israel as a potential friend, rather than a risk,” says Mohammed Baharoon, CEO of b’huth, an independent public policy research center. in Dubai, UAE. But change won’t happen overnight, he warns.

Shai-Lee Spigelman, director general of Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology, was part of an Israeli-American delegation to the United Arab Emirates on August 31, which included a working group on space and science. “The meetings were really impressive, interesting and open. I really felt that both parties wanted to cooperate, they wanted to find mutual ways of working together, ”he says. .

Two universities have already signed an agreement to work together, the first of its kind between the countries. The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi and the Weizmann Institute of Sciences in Rehovot, Israel, plan to create a joint virtual institute for artificial intelligence. They are also intended to promote exchanges of students and researchers, hold conferences and share computer resources.

The science generation

Since Israel was founded in 1948, the nations of the Arab League have opposed the Jewish state over the issue of Palestinian independence. Most have refused to negotiate with the country since then: Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are only the third and fourth Arab countries to establish formal diplomatic relations with Israel, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. So far, citizens Israelis were generally prohibited from entering the UAE, and although Israel did not have a law prohibiting citizens of the UAE, entry required explicit permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But a new generation of Gulf leaders, backed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, is challenging that narrative. Between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, scientific cooperation is a high priority, Spigelman says.

The Aug. 31 meeting included early discussions about possible cooperation in satellites and experiments in low Earth orbit, as well as the coordination of astronaut visits to the International Space Station, it says. “They didn’t seem new to this neighborhood, although they are. It was very impressive, ”she adds. The Israeli company SpaceIL in Tel Aviv launched a government-backed mission to the Moon in 2019, although the lander crashed. The United Arab Emirates has a manned space flight program and was one of three nations to launch a mission to Mars in July.

Future collaborations are also likely to focus on artificial intelligence and quantum science, as well as agriculture, desert studies and water safety, Spigelman says. Both countries are also conducting extensive research in cybersecurity, energy, and desalination technology.

Before the deal, the UAE was in talks to join the region’s first joint scientific facility, Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East, known as SESAME, says Rolf-Dieter Heuer, chairman of the governing council of SESAME. Israel is already a member, as are Pakistan, Iran and the Palestinian Authority.

A UAE-based researcher studying ancient civilization in the Middle East who asked not to be named due to sensitivities surrounding the agreements, says archeology should also benefit. The UAE boycott of Israel meant that the exchange of artifacts and samples has so far been a problem, he says. “There were some civilizations that lived in the Gulf region and they also moved to the Israeli territories today, so I really don’t know how those civilizations are studied today.”

Start running

Collaboration will not start from scratch. Researchers from the United Arab Emirates and Israel co-authored 248 papers between 2017 and 2019, according to the Scopus database (including co-authorship as part of mega-collaborations, such as experiments at the European laboratory for particle physics, CERN). This compares with 183 articles co-authored by scientists in Israel and Egypt during the same period, and 98 between Israel and Jordan. UAE universities only awarded their first PhDs in 2010, and many high-level academics come from other countries, which have diplomatic ties with Israel.

Additionally, technology companies in the United Arab Emirates, as well as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, already have informal relationships with counterparts in Israel to acquire what are seen as crucial technologies, such as those used to protect oil and gas infrastructure. says Robert Mogielnicki, researcher. in political economy at the Gulf Arab States Institute in Washington DC. Both countries already have extensive ties with China, he adds.

But now, researchers hope to form more and more deeper connections. Not only can Israeli collaborators visit now, but UAE institutions can begin student exchanges, says Andrea Macciò, an Italian astrophysicist at New York University in Abu Dhabi, who collaborates frequently with Israeli colleagues. Israel is “one of the closest countries in the area with a substantial research program,” says Macciò, who hopes the agreement will lead to collaborations at the institutional level, as well as calls for research for joint programs and regional scientific summits.

Spigelman says that countries could indeed sign a bilateral scientific agreement under which they will launch calls for joint funding.

Criticisms and concerns

Researchers are also talking about the benefits of cultural ties between neighbors. An Israeli physicist, who asked not to be named, is exploring the possibility of taking his family on a sabbatical in the United Arab Emirates. “The day [the peace accord] It was announced, we thought, why not give it a try? “he says.” We joke that besides the Moon, this seems like the next step for something really new. “And unlike the agreements with Jordan and Egypt, this peace sounds genuinely” warm, “he says.

But the sensitivities remain. Nature It was difficult for him to find Emirati scientists willing to talk about collaboration with Israel (people in the UAE can be jailed for speaking against government policy).

And Palestinian academics are angry about the deals, says philosopher Sari Nusseibeh, a former president of Al Quds University in East Jerusalem. But Nusseibeh is confident that the agreement will boost Palestinian participation in research collaboration.

“Can the UAE use its new partner to help the Palestinians? I’m sure it can, ”says Nusseibeh. “Given the Palestinian suffering under occupation, the sky is the limit on what you can do. Let’s hope so. “

Currently, Palestinian scientists have restrictions on where they can travel and what materials they can import, says particle physicist Mario Martone of the advocacy group Scientists for Palestine.

Baharoon says Emirati researchers are unlikely to let politics influence their business or life decisions, and that attitude bodes well for future research collaborations. “From various people I spoke to, I think there is an admiration for Israel as the newly created nation, and one that has done a lot when it comes to science and technology,” he says.

But Mogielnicki cautions that while governments are excited about the prospects for research and development, relationships between individual Israeli and Emirati scholars will be key to success. “How will researchers from both countries handle potentially uncomfortable relationships with colleagues, who are a bit more conservative and not so optimistic about this standardization? That’s a great question that remains to be seen, ”he says.

However, Baharoon hopes that the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates will prove to be a “proof of concept” for other Gulf countries. Bahrain’s publicized intention to normalize relations with Israel came just weeks after the UAE’s announcement, and there is speculation that others will follow.

Spigelman also hopes the agreement will inspire similar agreements between Israel and other nations. “There are other very advanced countries in the Gulf with strong universities and science and technology resources, and we would love to cooperate with them,” he says.

Nature asked a representative of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for comment, but the ministry did not respond when this article went to press.