RIYADH: Two top Saudi science institutions have signed a deal to share facilities and boost research on food security. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and The National Research and Development Center for Sustainable Agriculture, also known as Estidamah, signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday. The university’s vice president for research, Pierre Magistretti, said: “Since its foundation, KAUST has recognized food as a key research thrust for our faculty. Sustainable food security is one of the core global, regional and national challenges that KAUST has a mandate to solve. “Through this agreement, we are creating a greatly enhanced resource for training the next generation of Saudi Arabia’s scientists in sustainable agriculture. The novel research supported by this collaboration will have an impact on Saudi Arabia’s agriculture sector and beyond.” The cooperation will drive research efforts and student training to help improve Saudi Arabia’s sustainable agriculture. The agreement also aims to intensify existing collaboration between Estidamah and KAUST in research to create sustainable planting systems for the Kingdom and the region, with a focus on strategic crops. The deal will allow KAUST students and researchers to perform their experiments in Estidamah facilities, developing and executing combined research projects and organizing joint scientific events. Abdulrahman Al-Saghir, general director of Estidamah, said cooperation was important to develop sustainable agriculture in the Kingdom. This development is in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goal of food security alongside ecological balance.