UAE, Israeli companies sign 'strategic commercial agreement' on virus R&D

Reuters

The Emirati APEX National Investment company signed a "strategic commercial agreement" with Israel's Tera Group to cooperate on research and development related to COVID-19, including a testing device, the UAE's state news agency WAM said late on Saturday.

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 at a press conference in Abu Dhabi, coming soon after Israel and the UAE announced an agreement on Thursday that will lead to a full normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two states.