UAE-Uzbekistan cooperation can contribute to rebuilding the post pandemic world

Dubai - The UAE has been a major contributor to the international humanitarian effort to assist countries in combating the virus.

I followed with great interest the speech of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan, at the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in which he addressed the importance of a coordinated international response to the Covid-19 crisis and other important challenges like poverty alleviation and a stable food supply chain. Guided by a shared vision for global solidarity amidst crises, the UAE and Uzbekistan have already established close cooperation and created strong mechanisms to combine forces to deal with the Covid-19 threat.

The pandemic has deepened the realisation that we are one human family. The crisis has shown us just how intricately connected we are with everyone in the world. Our interconnected nature has also made us recognise that a synchronised worldwide response is necessary to fight the pandemic and create a better future in a post-pandemic world.

The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding Father of the UAE, deeply instilled in us the values of cooperation and dialogue, on the basis of which country has been strongly globally engaged right from its inception. Since the onset of Covid-19, the UAE's leadership has always highlighted the need for the international community to join forces to combat and mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

It is in this spirit that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the leaders of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, discussed ways to build an effective international response to the crisis in their meeting earlier this year.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, former UAE Minister of Economy

Humanitarian initiatives

The UAE has been a major contributor to the international humanitarian effort to assist countries in combating the virus. As we all know, health professionals are at the heart of the worldwide fight against Covid-19. However, it is critical that they are equipped with sufficient medical supplies, whether it is for patient care or testing and contact tracing programmes.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the UAE has delivered more than 1,328 metric tonnes of medical supplies to over 111 countries, assisting more than 1.3 million medical workers in curbing the pandemic. Earlier in the year, the UAE dispatched three lots of humanitarian aid, carrying a total of 44 tonnes of medical supplies including equipment, test systems, medicines and personal protective equipment, to Uzbekistan. The UAE also arranged two evacuation flights and accommodation for Uzbek tourists stranded in the country during the first month of Covid-19.

The country's overall international aid response demonstrated its capability to reach more than half of the countries of the world despite challenges posed by the shipping and logistics sectors.

The humanitarian role of UAE aid sector goes beyond expectations. The country closely coordinates with multilateral organisations like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Food Programme to assist them in delivering medical and food supplies around the world.

Sharing Covid-19 expertise

The UAE has been praised globally for its response to the Covid-19 crisis. To date, the country has one of the world's highest Covid-19 testing rates with more than 8.7 million tests. The UAE also has one of the world's lowest death rates of 0.5 per cent, and the highest recovery rates of 90 per cent.

As a result of its success in combating the pandemic, we have important lessons, protocols and best practices to share with the rest of the world. The country pioneered a number of scientific advances in the fight against Covid-19. These include the establishment of industrial-scale PCR test labs in just 14 days, a world-first stem cell therapy administered through a nebuliser and a non-invasive saliva test to detect the virus within minutes. The UAE has also extensively used convalescent plasma therapy to treat severe cases.

International cooperation in creating mechanisms for sharing knowledge and expertise is vital to strengthen global efforts to counter the pandemic. Last month, the UAE opened the Mohammed bin Rashid Medical Research Institute, the country's first independent biomedical research centre as part of its contribution to global biomedical research on Covid-19. The Institute seeks to forge local and global partnerships with research institutions and share pioneering research projects with specialists across the world in this field.

We believe the UAE and Uzbekistan can set an example in sharing expertise and experiences to contribute to global efforts to prepare for future pandemics and build more resilient societies.

Vaccine development

We also strongly believe in the need for a collaborative international approach to developing and deploying vaccines against Covid-19. The UAE is the first country in the world to have hosted the Phase III trial of an inactivated coronavirus vaccine candidate. Previously, second phase trials saw 100 per cent of volunteers generating antibodies after two doses in 28 days. Developed through international cooperation, the vaccine was approved for use last week by the UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention following the success of trials and made available to frontline workers who face the highest risks.

A widespread international commitment to a fair allocation system is critical to ensure the vaccine is available to people of all countries. I believe the UAE and Uzbekistan can work together to promote a model that helps make Covid-19 vaccines and drugs a shared resource that can be deployed for the good of all.

Food supply chains

International cooperation also plays a crucial role in maintaining the stability and resilience of food supply chains amidst the pandemic. Our experience has shown that boosting supplier diversification through expanded global collaboration is key to strengthening food security.

Even at the peak of the crisis, the UAE's well-established relationships with international markets allowed us to open new streams of import for food supplies in order to compensate any possible interruption in supplies from our main source markets. Policymakers across the world need to explore greater global coordination at various levels to ensure a food-secure future for all countries in a rapidly changing world.

Uzbekistan has enormous agricultural potential to contribute to the UAE's and the wider region's food security. Both countries have significant opportunities to tap synergies between Uzbekistan's agro-sector and UAE and MENA food markets to build a secure food supply chain, an initiative that the President of Uzbekistan mentioned in his speech at the 75th UNGA session.

The UAE looks forward to continuing its close cooperation and coordination with Uzbekistan as part of its broader framework for international collaboration aimed at rebuilding our economies and societies in a post-Covid-19 world.