President visits the Middle East

Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society visited Israel and Palestine this week. The visit started in Israel with a conference on Structural Biology: The Molecular Fabric of Life, which is part of an agreement for scientific cooperation between the Royal Society and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Professor Nili Cohen, President of the Israel Academy and Venki also signed a renewed agreement to ensure an additional five years of cooperative scientific activities.

The President also visited Al Quds University in Jerusalem where he met with the University President, Professor Dr Imad Abu Kishek, and gave a lecture. The lecture focused on his research and broader issues such as the importance of scientific collaboration and the role of science in tackling global challenges.

The Palestine Academy of Science and Technology, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, then hosted Venki in Ramallah. He met Professor Marwan Awartani, Minister of Education and President of the Palestine Academy for Science and Technology, senior scientists from the Academy, representatives from the Palestinian Platform For Women in Science and young scientists from the Palestinian Youth Academy.