ABU DHABI — A “strategic commercial agreement” to cooperate on research and development related to the coronavirus pandemic, including a testing device, has been signed between the Emirati APEX National Investment company and Israel’s Tera Group, the UAE’s state news agency WAM reported on Sunday. “We are delighted with this cooperation with TeraGroup, which 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 (COVID-19),” said Khalifa Yousef Khouri, chairman of APEX National Investment. Oren Sadiv, chairman & CEO of TeraGroup, said: “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.” The agreement between the two companies aims at conducting and enhancing research and studies related to coronavirus, as well as developing a coronavirus testing device to contribute to speeding up the testing process, facilitating it, and providing it with high accuracy and high throughput to everyone in accordance with the best international practices. The signing of the agreement was held at the headquarters of Al-Qudra Holding here and was attended by representatives of the Emirati and Israeli media, according to a statement carried by WAM. On June 25, the UAE announced that two Emirati private companies would collaborate with two Israeli companies on a COVID-19 initiative. On Thursday, the United Arab Emirates and Israel reached a historic peace deal that will lead to a full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations in an agreement that US President Donald Trump helped broker. An Israeli delegation is set to travel to the United Arab Emirates as early as next week to meet with the Gulf state’s top leadership, according to a report by Israeli Channel 12. — SG