On 28 November, Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to China, delivered a keynote speech at the Health, Medical, and Charity Forum of the Asia Youth Leaders Forum 2021.

The full speech is as below.

Excellencies, 
Distinguished guests, 
Ladies and gentlemen, 
It is my great honor to be speaking with you here today. I would like to thank China Public Diplomacy Association, China Foundation for Peace and Development, Government of Guangzhou Municipality, and Asia Youth Leaders Association to bring us together at the Health, Medical, and Charity Forum. I value the opportunity to discuss such important topic of the progress in the joint effort against COVID-19 between China and MENA countries with the distinguished guests.

COVID-19 is a significant global challenge, one of the greatest test humanity has faced in the modern era. What a bilateral coordination was there regarding the management of the public health crisis. I firmly believe the increased cooperation between countries and international communities will be a key requirement to ensure stronger and more resilient post COVID-19 economies. 

The UAE and China have fought against COVID-19 together since the beginning of the virus outbreak in early 2020, and both countries should be proud of our achievements in managing the pandemic. In keeping with our comprehensive strategic partnership, the UAE continues to provide valuable resources and necessary capabilities to third countries. China's efforts have been very successful in containing the virus by the use of herbs and minimizing deaths. This ensure China was among the first major economies to recover. This recovery has boosted not only the growth of the world's economy, but has had to stabilize the global economy to ensure the ongoing supply of medical devices and materials internationally. 

As an open, innovative, and responsible country in the Middle East, the UAE is also committed to being a leader for providing international aid and global relief initiatives. The UAE has been a hub for the Middle East and North Africa region and beyond, with 135 countries benefiting from the UAE aid, with medical supplies, mobile hospitals and clinics, PCR test kits, and ventilators, as well as with vaccines manufactured in the UAE and distributed across the region. 

The UAE is honored to be the first MENA region producing the Sinopharm vaccine. The locally made vaccine authorized by Sinopharm is marketed as Hayat-Vax, which means life in Arabic. Since March, the vaccine production was authorized during a visit by Wang Yi, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister. I'm looking forward to the mass production of Hayat-Vax and wide distribution of this vaccine to more regions across the world. It is a true example of our strategic cooperation, delivering positive results. In May, the UAE government started the distribution of Hayat-Vax vaccine. It is anticipated that the UAE’s vaccine production capacity will eventually reach 200 million doses per year. Also, the UAE has been playing an important role as a distribution hub for vaccines. As a responsible global community of nations, UAE and China join hands and work together to improve international health and welfare. This partnership is a testament to the robust and deepening UAE-China comprehensive strategic partnership and administrates a sincere desire to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Facing public health crisis, the importance of communication between all parties, organizations, and governments and the smooth coordination and understanding means steering and navigating through crisis more easily. I would say this is the overarching lesson. 

Since arriving in 2017, it has been my privilege to be able to travel extensively around this beautiful and dynamic country. I have visited a number of cities in the Guangdong Province and the Greater Bay Area. I can feel the vitality of China's development every day. There are tangible improvements to infrastructure, healthcare, green living, and improvements to their quality of life. I am very optimistic about the province’s future and its potential to be an important window for trade and investment between the UAE and China.

As the UAE Mission in China, we are delighted to help bring about comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, because we share the same vision of ensuring a brighter future for the world. Thank you.