Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed talks coronavirus with France’s Macron

The pair talked Covid-19 as well as developments in the Gulf, the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea

Emmanuel Macron welcomes Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to Paris in November 2018. The two leaders held talks by phone. Mohamed Al Hammadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Leaders in France and the UAE on Monday discussed ways to share resources and expertise to beat the global coronavirus pandemic.

Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss “strategic relations” and “political, economic and cultural” ties.

After the meeting, both officials tweeted about the conversation with Mr Macron saying the two nations will “step up our cooperation to defeat the pandemic and its consequences, and to build the post-pandemic world.”

Sheikh Mohamed added that they discussed, “sharing our resources and expertise to overcome the global Covid-19 pandemic.”

France has been hard hit by the virus that has swept the globe with 143,000 confirmed cases, 28,239 deaths and 61,728 recoveries. The UAE has 24,190 confirmed cases, 224 deaths and 9,577 recoveries.

State-run WAM news agency also reported that the pair discussed developments in the Gulf, the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea. It said they “underscoring the importance of joint action to protect regional stability through political solutions and settlements to the region's crises in a way that ultimately achieves the ambitions of their peoples for stability, peace and coexistence.”