This agreement follows the partnership signed last November between the UIR and the IAI aiming at the establishment of collaborations in applied research, innovation and transfer of knowledge in the fields of aeronautics, the signatories said in a statement.

The memorandum of understanding for the establishment of the Center was signed by the UIR President Noureddine Mouaddib and the CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries Technologies Eytan Eshel, during a ceremony chaired by the Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation Abdellatif Miraoui, and the Chairman of the IAI Board of Directors Amir Peretz, in the presence of many senior officials and members of the UIR Board of Directors.

"The primary vocation of the Center is to promote cutting-edge research, innovation and knowledge transfer in the fields of aeronautics and AI," the statement said, adding that the Center thus wishes to strengthen Morocco’s position as an attractive pole of competence, whether in terms of training qualified resources, investments or talents capable of providing innovative solutions to industrialists and aeronautical companies looking for external laboratories or external accelerators to meet the challenges of disruptive technologies in the AI era."

According to the same source, the specific objectives of the Center of Excellence include developing joint research projects, participating in calls for funding programs for innovative projects, promoting innovation, organizing incubation programs and boot camps for technology startups in the sector, promoting networking with other players in the civil aerospace ecosystem, offering internships for students, and sharing resources and know-how.

In parallel to the signing ceremony, joint workshops are scheduled on Tuesday between the UIR research team and IAI aerospace experts. These joint seminars will focus on key areas of mutual interest and in line with the overall mission of the Center of Excellence, the same source said.

Thus, seasoned UIR researchers and IAI experts will meet to present the latest advances in their scientific work, discuss innovative projects in progress and share their aeronautical know-how or experiences on emerging and existing technologies.

The conclusions drawn from these dynamic seminars will be used to enrich the roadmap of the new Center of Excellence in Aeronautics, Innovation and Artificial Intelligence, concluded the same source.