The Moshe Mirilashvili Center for Food Security in the Desert was established by Ben-Gurion University on Wednesday during a ceremony at the Marcus Family Campus in Beersheba.
Guests included H.E Mariam Almheiri, Emirati State for Food & Water Security Minister, H.E Mohamed Al Khaja, UAE Ambassador to Israel, and Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, President and CEO of Watergen and Vertical Field, who is supporting the center named after his father.
Ben-Gurion University President Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, a world-renowned expert of food security, will be guiding the development of the center, which will be created in Sde Boker at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR) within the framework of the School for Sustainability and Climate Change.
Prof. Noam Weisbrod, director of BIDR said, "In the university's spirit, which has signaled that sustainability and climate change research are a top priority, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research have made it our mission to make the wilderness bloom and develop water and agricultural sources in drylands in general, and the Negev in particular. In light of the global changes we are experiencing, creating a center focused on water and food security is vital. We are confident that the center will serve as a catalyst for more research as well as finding solutions for water and agricultural problems in many regions of the world, and particularly in arid countries such as Israel, the Gulf Region, and essentially the entire Middle East."
"I am really excited about this new initiative with Watergen and Vertical Field. This was really bashert [meant to be]," declared Prof. Chamovitz, "When I met Michael Mirilashvili just three months ago, I quickly realized I had found a partner and soulmate who was just as passionate about food and water security as I was.
"Technology always stands on the shoulders of basic science. Together, we are fulfilling David Ben-Gurion's vision and providing solutions. The Moshe Mirilashvili Center for Food Security in the Desert perfectly complements BGU's commitment to finding solutions to the world's most critical problems and why we created the School of Sustainability and Climate Change."
Dr. Michael Mirilashvili stressed the urgency of the tasks at hand:
"We need to take action because people are suffering now and cannot wait decades for long-range plans. What we are doing here will be an example for the region. We will bring in many other countries and do good together.
"This is more than a donation. We will create technologies that will make the world a better place," he said.