His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, opened the Khalifa Center for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (KCBGE) at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) campus in Al Ain today, in the presence of his Excellency Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of UAEU, and his Excellency Humaid Mohammad Al Qutami, Minister of Education. The center is the first of its kind in the region and specializes in the genetic fertilization of plants with the aim of increasing agricultural production.  

His Highness cut the electronic ribbon, took a tour of the center’s various departments and laboratories and listened to a presentation on the center’s vision and goals. He expressed his appreciation of, and support for, the center which is named after his Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE and the patron of the nation’s overall development and achievements. His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan further pointed out that the ongoing directives from his Highness the President of the UAE provide the driving force behind the agricultural achievements of the country and are consistent with the strategy to achieve local food security, where local communities can meet their food requirements by depending on local resources and avoid exacerbating current world food deficit problems.

His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan emphasized how keen his Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE, is to achieve sustainable development in agriculture and plant production; to support the strategic integrated agricultural development planning of the nation; to advance the UAE's international reputation in scientific research; to use advanced techniques for the genetic improvement of plants; to support research centers in order to find solutions to the agricultural challenges that face the community and to maximize the optimum use of human and economic resources to contribute to finding a radical and lasting solution.  

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan commended the wise leader’s support for the various research centers throughout the country and also commended the continued interest of his Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan concerning the establishment of the Khalifa Center for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering. This center will constitute an international center for research and academic collaboration with other international and academic research institutions. It will become the location for research on the genetic propagation of local plants, increasing the opportunities for the permanent provision of crops and the control of harmful pests. In addition, the center will soon have a strategic aspect to ensure leadership and excellence in higher education and scientific research locally, regionally and internationally. It will also contribute positively to the progress of the UAE by making available research centers on a par with the international standards. The center will increase the opportunities to deliver the knowledge and skills required by university students in agriculture, biotechnology and genetic engineering, as well as looking at how to better transfer knowledge for use in case studies and research.

Dr. Ali Rashid Al Noaimi, the Vice Chancellor of UAEU, was honored by the opening of this center at the University being conducted by his Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “It is already considered as one of the most important specialist centers in the advancing and developmental processes that play a vital role in agricultural research and the development of the country,” he said.

It is worth mentioning that Khalifa Center for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering was established with the support of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs with additional support from his Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It is one of the most important specialist research centers for the genetic fertilization of plants and one of the few centers in the Arab world concerned with the quantity and quality of agricultural production.

The center can help facilitate a response to the issue of food consumption and help to avoid a future food gap due to potential overpopulation. In addition it helps improve the performance and effectiveness of the agricultural sector, increases agricultural productivity through the introduction of modern agricultural technologies and contributes to the development of intra-regional trade at the local level while promoting marketing capabilities in agricultural commodities. It also supports the economic integration of agriculture and provides a state-of-the-art agricultural environment that keeps pace with the strategic goals and future visions for the agricultural development of the country; and at regional and international level by establishing partnership collaborations, exchanges, and investment in the different agricultural sectors.