United Arab Emirates-based APEX National Investment agreed to conduct research on the coronavirus with Israel’s TeraGroup in what could be the first cross-border deal after the two countries began normalizing relations, according to Bloomberg.
TeraGroup is “the first business to inaugurate trade, economy and effective partnerships between the Emirati and Israeli business sectors,” APEX National Investment Chairman Khalifa Yousef Khouri said in a statement on the state-run Emirates News Agency on Sunday. The deal was described as a “strategic commercial agreement.”
The UAE announced last week that it’s moving toward normalizing relations with Israel, joining Egypt and Jordan as the only Arab countries to do so, in what was hailed by U.S. President Donald Trump as “a truly historic moment.”
Even before the diplomatic breakthrough, a UAE official said companies in Israel and the Gulf state had planned to partner on efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
Established in 2003, TeraGroup branched out of the distinguished Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and has investments in Research & Development with many world-renowned scientists. A deep technology company, TeraGroup focuses on fast and safe, 1-minute COVID-19 breathing tests using Tera sensing, which guarantee immediate cost-effective results and contribute to the safe returning to normal of business in different sectors.
TeraGroup’s BioSafety testing is conducted in selected countries around the world, including the Emirates Field Hospital in Abu Dhabi, with plans to expand the testing to cover the entire UAE.
TeraGroup’s Oren Sadiv commented: “We are thrilled with our agreement with APEX National Investment and hope that we will achieve the objectives outlined in this agreement, which in turn will benefit everyone economically, specifically in these exceptional circumstances with the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world.”
APEX National Investment is an investment company in the field of public investments, including the healthcare sector with a dedicated focus on establishing field hospitals at maximum speed and equipping them with the necessary high-standard equipment. The company also contributes to creating solutions to implement the precautionary measures necessitated by the spread of Coronavirus, in addition to gathering field data to support laboratories with their research and studies to develop the desired vaccine to fight the Coronavirus pandemic.
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