His Excellency, Dr. Ali Al-Jarbawi, Minister of Planning and Administrative Development,  led a delegation to the Biotechnology Research Center, within the framework of his visit to Palestine Polytechnic University aimed at development and consolidation of cooperation between the Ministry and the University.

The Chairman of the Centre for Biotechnology, Dr. Yaqoub Ashhab, gave a short lecture about the Centre reviewing its activities and future plans. The importance of biotechnology research to areas of concern to the Palestinian community were highlighted and the national relevance of scientific research being developed by researchers at the Centre was explained.

While the Minister, Dr. Al-Jarbawi, and the accompanying delegation toured the Centre’s laboratories and discussed its projects with the research team, he met with a group of students from the master's program in biotechnology (a joint program between the Palestine Polytechnic University and the University of Bethlehem), where the students briefed the minister on research that they have conducted in the laboratories of the Centre under the supervision of the research staff. The Minister expressed his delight at the existence of such centers of excellence at the national level and also confirmed the Government's commitment to support projects that contribute to the advancement of society and the Palestinian economy.

The Minister was accompanied on his visit to the center by the President of the Palestine Polytechnic University, Dr. Ibrahim al-Masri, and his deputies, as well as the President of the Center for Biotechnology, Dr. Yaqoub Ashhab, in addition to the research team at the Centre: Dr. Rami Arafah, Dr. Fawzi Razem, Dr. Robin Abu-Ghazaleh and the laboratory technicians as well as a group of students of the Master of Biotechnology at the University.