Russia and the UAE are cooperating in fighting the spread of the coronavirus, including through the use of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday at a joint press conference following talks with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
"We are developing cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus infection," he noted. - "The UAE is now beginning the third phase of clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine, and the possibility of licensing production of this vaccine is being discussed".
The Foreign Minister of Russia drew attention to the deepening of bilateral cooperation in the sphere of high technologies, in particular, in the peaceful use of outer space. "Just recently, on December 2, our Soyuz rocket launched another Emirati earth remote sensing satellite into orbit," he reminded.
Lavrov expressed satisfaction with the state of affairs in the economic direction of bilateral cooperation. "In the first nine months of this year, the trade turnover increased by more than 60% and exceeded $2 billion," he said. - "The intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation is actively working, the partnership between the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Emirati Fund Mubadala is strengthening, our energy agencies within the OPEC+ and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum are cooperating closely".
Referring to the discussions of international and regional agenda during the talks, the Russian Foreign Minister primarily emphasized the willingness of both countries to continue cooperation and coordination of actions "to mobilize the international community for establishing a truly universal front against terrorism". "There are a number of particular ideas in this respect and we will work on them," he emphasized. - "The UAE, as well as the Russian Federation, pays special attention to combating terrorist and extremist ideology, countering the inculcation of a mentality of hatred and any manifestations of discrimination and extremism".
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: sputnikvaccine.com
Based on materials from TASS