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Israel, UAE discuss deeper cooperation against COVID-19
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Israeli and United Arab Emirates flags line a road in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, on Aug. 16, 2020.The health ministers of Israel and the United Arab Emirates spoke by telephone Monday to discuss cooperation in the fight against the novel coronavirus, Emirati state media reported. (AFP/Jack Guez)
T
he health ministers of Israel and the United Arab Emirates spoke by telephone Monday to discuss cooperation in the fight against the novel coronavirus, Emirati state media reported.
The call between Emirati minister Abdul Rahman Al-Owais and his Israeli counterpart Yuli Edelstein came after the announcement on August 13 that the two nations would normalize ties in a historic US-backed deal.
The two ministers discussed ways to "strengthen cooperation in the medical field" related to the pandemic, the official Emirati agency WAM reported.
They spoke about possible scientific and medical partnerships including vaccine trials and treatments as well as a possible exchange of delegations, it said.
Even before their move to normalize ties, which makes the Gulf state only the third Arab country to seek to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel, firms from both countries had agreed to collaborate against the respiratory disease.
Two Israeli defense companies signed a deal with an Emirati company in July to develop a non-invasive coronavirus screening test which could produce results in minutes.
State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the country's largest aerospace and defense firm, as well as the government's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, last month signed the memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42.
And earlier this month, the UAE's APEX National Investment and Israel's TeraGroup signed an agreement to jointly develop research and studies on the novel coronavirus, WAM reported.
