WELLINGTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand has launched a new Antarctic science partnership with a leading university from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aimed at boosting advanced engineering and climate modelling capability, a senior official said Monday.
"By combining our research expertise with the UAE's strengths in engineering and autonomous technologies, we will develop new tools to better understand and predict how climate change in Antarctica affects our weather, oceans and coastal communities," said New Zealand Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Shane Reti.
Under a memorandum of arrangement between the UAE's Khalifa University and Antarctica New Zealand, the partnership will support two projects under the Antarctic Science Platform, focusing on improving sea-ice forecasting and deploying advanced autonomous systems to better understand iceshelf melt and ocean circulation, Reti said.
With New Zealand to invest 1 million NZ dollars (600,000 U.S. dollars) in the projects, the partnership follows the government's 49 million NZ dollars (29.49 million U.S. dollars), seven-year investment announced in May 2025 to support the Antarctic Science Platform and deepen international collaboration, he said. ■
