Two private UAE companies have signed an agreement with two Israeli firms to develop research and technology to fight the coronavirus outbreak, a UAE official announced on Thursday night.
Hend Al Otaiba, director of strategic communications at the UAE Foreign Ministry, said the move was “in light of strengthening international co-operation in the fields of research, development and technology in service of humanity” during the pandemic.
Global cases of Covid-19 passed 9 million this week and are on track to hit 10 million with the next seven days.
Ms Al Otaiba did not name the UAE or Israeli firms involved in the deal, stating “two private companies in UAE signed an agreement with two companies in Israel to develop research and technology to fight Covid-19”.
No Arab state other than Egypt and Jordan has formal relations with Israel, although the UAE does not have specific laws against conducting business there, as do some Middle East countries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the news would help to improve health security in the entire region.
Coronavirus around the Middle East
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A billboard on Al Khalil Road in Dubai advises people to wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
A mask-clad Palestinian boy is seen through the fumes from a Hebron municipality vehicle fumigating a street in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, after a recent surge of coronavirus cases. AFP -
An Abu Dhabi resident shows his catch after fishing along the Corniche. Victor Besa / The National -
A man on his bike along the Corniche in Abu Dhabi amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Victor Besa / The National -
People wear protective face masks as a preventive measure against the spread of coronavirus in Deira, Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
A health worker of the Palestinian Hebron municipality, dressed in PPE, rides in a fumigation vehicle sterilising streets and buildings in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. AFP -
People wear protective face masks against curb the spread of the coronavirus in Kizilay Square, in Ankara, Turkey. AFP -
Police officers wearing face masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus, patrol in a public garden, warning people to respect social distancing, in Ankara. AP Photo -
A man who has recovered from the coronavirus wears a protective face mask as he donates his blood plasma to help critically ill patients at Basra Teaching Hospital in Basra, Iraq. Reuters -
A couple who have recovered from the coronavirus wear protective face masks as they wait to donate blood plasma to help critically ill patients at Basra Teaching Hospital in Basra, Iraq. Reuters -
An assistant of Dr Hiba Jabbar Ashoor wears a protective face mask while taking a break at Basra Teaching Hospital, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, in Basra, Iraq. Reuters -
Deputy Syrian health minister, right, and Chinese ambassador to Syria Feng Biao, left, sign a document for receiving boxes of Chinese medical supplies at a store in Damascus, Syria. EPA -
Workers unload boxes of Chinese medical supplies in Damascus, Syria. EPA -
Sanitary workers remove rubbish from a street amid the spread of epidemics, in Sanaa, Yemen. EPA -
A woman consults a doctor at a small treatment centre set up by local volunteers in the Shambat district of northern Khartoum, amid shortage of medicine as Sudan fights to control the spread of coronavirus. AFP
Israel claimed a "significant breakthrough" towards a treatment for Covid-19 last month, saying it had isolated a crucial coronavirus antibody at its main biological research laboratory.
It is just one of more than 125 potential vaccines undergoing tests, with 20 in human trials.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday that an effective Covid-19 vaccine may take more than a year to develop.
WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told members of the European Parliament's health committee that if such a vaccine were found, it should be available to all.
"It would be very difficult to say for sure that we will have a vaccine," Dr Tedros told the video conference.
"Hoping that there will be a vaccine, the estimate is we may have a vaccine within one year.
"If accelerated, it could be even less than that, but by a couple of months. That's what scientists are saying."
