British minister hails UAE coronavirus co-operation

Middle East Minister discusses pandemic and Yemen with the UAE's Dr Anwar Gargash

People applaud frontline health workers in London. Reuters

Britain’s Middle East Minister has praised the continuing “teamwork” between his country and the UAE in the fight against the coronavirus.

In a call on Thursday, James Cleverly, who is British Minister of State for the Mena region, thanked UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash, for the UAE’s help.

Mr Cleverly tweeted that he had thanked the UAE for its support in ensuring work to develop a Covid-19 vaccine was fully funded.

Britain is grappling with one of Europe’s worst outbreaks of the novel coronavirus, with more than 170,000 confirmed cases.

At least 26,000 people are known to have died from Covid-19 in the country.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who returned to his office this week after needing hospital treatment for the disease, said Britain had passed the peak of its outbreak.

The British government is due to release a plan on how to ease its nationwide lockdown next week.

Mr Cleverly said he also discussed the Yemen conflict with Dr Gargash and the two agreed on the need for the Riyadh Agreement to be adhered to in full.

The power-sharing agreement was signed on November 5, 2019, between the Yemeni government and the secessionist Southern Transitional Council.

The STC, an ally with the government against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, last week declared self-rule for Yemen's south, after which many in the international community called for the Riyadh Agreement to be observed.