BEIJING, 4th June, 2021 (WAM) -- Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, Ambassador of the UAE to the People's Republic of China, met today with the Mayor of Shanghai, Gong Zheng, while attending the Pujiang Innovation Forum, in which the UAE is participating as the country of honour.

During the meeting, Zheng said that China has a comprehensive partnership with the UAE, and cooperation between the two countries is witnessing constant growth in various fields.

Al Dhaheri emphasised that the development of anti-COVID-19 vaccines is one of the most significant areas of cooperation between the two countries.

He also said that he looks forward to more cooperation with China in the field of vaccine production.

The UAE diplomat hailed the great achievements of the city of Shanghai in the economic and social development fields, stressing that the relations between the UAE and China have entered a golden stage, and have achieved fruitful results, especially with regard to bilateral trade and cooperation in the field of vaccines.

Shanghai is a very dynamic city, he said and hoped that the two sides would enhance cooperation in the areas of artificial intelligence, advanced technology, biotechnology, healthcare, climate change and environmental protection.

In his interview with China Daily Newspaper, Al Dhaheri said, "We are able to produce Chinese vaccines in the UAE, and production will reach 200 million doses annually. Not only will the UAE and China benefit from this production, but the production will also be devoted to supporting the efforts of countries around the world to fight the COVID-19 pandemic."The UAE and China can work together to address global challenges, such as climate change, desertification and environmental degradation, he added.

In his remarks to the Xinhua News Agency on the sidelines of the forum which is currently being held under the theme, "Innovation, For Better Life", Al Dhaheri said, "I am pleased to witness the success of the third phase of the Sinopharm vaccine trials, the start of co-production of COVID-19 vaccines, and the rapid establishment of a regional vaccination centre in Dubai.''He also clarified that the various strains of COVID-19 have appeared in several regions of the world now, and there is a continuous demand to develop new types of vaccines, so both countries need to work side by side for the continuous development and distribution of vaccines and their distribution to various regions around the world.

He noted that there is immense scope for cooperation to address the challenges of any pandemic in the future.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2021.