The United Arab Emirates on March 19 dispatched an aid plane containing 7.7 metric tons of medical supplies and testing equipment to the Union of Comoros in a bid to support the country in the fight against COVID-19. The aid will assist approximately 7700 healthcare workers as they continue to work to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus on the island nation.

Responding to the aid delivery, Saeed Mohammed Saeed Al Maqbali, UAE Ambassador to the Union of Comoros, asserted that bilateral relations between the two countries have witnessed significant progress in recent years across various sectors with the support and friendship of both their leaderships.

"This progress comes based on the foundations of mutual understanding and coordination and within the framework of further cooperation to overcome existing challenges to generate future opportunities in service of common interests," he added.

Al Maqbali noted that the Union of Comoros was one of the first countries to have received medical aid and assistance from the UAE in the fight against the global pandemic. In May 2020, the UAE sent an aid plane carrying 5 metric tons of medical supplies to the Union of Comoros in a bid to assist the efforts of about 5,000 healthcare workers in mitigating the impact of the pandemic.

To date, the UAE has provided more than 1789 metric tons of medical aid and assistance to around 135 countries as part of its humanitarian response to the COVID-19 crisis. The aid has supported more than 1.8 million medical professionals across the world in the process.

WAM