It’s a first. China will launch, for the first time, the manufacture of the anti-covid vaccine Sinopharm abroad, and its choice fell on the United Arab Emirates.
To this end, the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, kicked off the joint project “Life Sciences and Manufacturing vaccines in the Emirates ”.
The Sino-Emirati collaboration will be part of a newly created joint venture between Sinopharm CNBG and G42, based in Abu Dhabi, aiming to produce up to 200 million doses per year in a new plant which will become operational this year. .
Smaller-scale production has already started at an existing Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries PSC plant with a capacity of 2 million doses per month, the Bloomberg Agency reported.
In statements to the press, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, affirmed that the two countries “inaugurate a new chapter of their historic and exceptional relationship entitled + A strategic partnership for humanity +”.
“We celebrate the great achievements of our global and private strategic partnership at different levels and continue the work we have started together since the start of the pandemic, which has been a pioneering model of joint cooperation between friendly countries in the face of challenges,” said he added.
And the UAE minister said that the UAE “believes in the importance of strengthening joint international action to fight this pandemic, progress towards controlling its repercussions and combating its effects in the interest of security of peoples and the stability of societies ”.
With the deal, the UAE becomes the first Gulf country to set up a coronavirus vaccine production facility.
The UAE has conducted one of the fastest vaccination campaigns in the world, with most people having received the Chinese vaccine.
The locally produced vaccine will be called Hayat-Vax. It is the same as the Sinopharm vaccine which was approved in the UAE last year.
