JEDDAH: An ambitious initiative to help nurture student talent in Saudi Arabia and the UAE has been given the green light. The King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) and the UAE’s Sharjah Education Council on Sunday signed a cooperation agreement to support gifted students in the two countries. The deal was inked by Mawhiba secretary-general, Dr. Amal Al-Hazzaa, and SEC chairman and executive council member, Dr. Saeed Musabeh Al-Kaabi, during a ceremony held at the foundation’s headquarters in Riyadh. Under the terms of the accord, Al-Hazzaa said Mawhiba would be able to exchange its experiences with the SEC while helping to boost the contribution of Emirati talent toward the nation’s ongoing development. And she lauded the council’s efforts to improve education in Sharjah through a variety of initiatives and programs. Al-Hazzaa told Arab News that investment in talent helped bring about the innovations of the future. “Societies should take the utmost care of their young people of both genders and not waste their talents by not working on discovering and nurturing them,” she added. Al-Kaabi said: “By signing this agreement, we will work on discovering and nurturing the gifted school students in Sharjah and empower, refine, and even support them through their journey to excellence and innovation, in light of the support the UAE’s leadership and the Emirate of Sharjah are providing to the people with superior mental abilities.” As part of the deal, Mawhiba and the SEC will organize exhibitions, symposiums, and conferences on creativity and innovation, while the Saudi foundation will carry out schemes in UAE schools.