Efrat Duvdevani, director-general of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation (center), and the center’s senior adviser for international and diplomatic affairs Nadav Tamir (far right) with the UAE visiting delegation, Feb. 17, 2021. Photo: Courtesy Peres Center for Peace and Innovation.

JNS.org – The first official advance delegation from the United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry visited the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation on Wednesday as part of a wider visit to prepare for the opening of the United Arab Emirates embassy in Israel as early as April.

The Emirati delegation requested to visit the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation to learn about the center’s work in promoting and advancing innovation and regional cooperation, and to lay the foundations for collaborative work in the near future.

The members of the delegation were given a tour and a comprehensive overview of its work by Efrat Duvdevani, director-general of the Peres Center of Peace and Innovation.

She outlined the Israeli startup ecosystem—its technologies, products and developments at the forefront of Israeli innovation. Duvdevani also summarized the center’s activities and projects promoting coexistence within Israel, and between Israel and its neighbors.

The delegation also stopped by the original office of longtime Israeli statesman Shimon Peres. Members of the delegation enthusiastically posed alongside his Nobel Peace Prize, noting that it had been one of the highlights of their visit to Israel.

“President Shimon Peres would have been delighted at your visit,” said Duvdevani. “I believe he would have viewed it as the practical realization of his vision for a new Middle East.”