São Paulo – The United Arab Emirates donated personal protection equipment for use by Brazilian healthcare professionals on the front line against the novel coronavirus. The donation results from a bilateral cooperation between the countries and was made through UAE Foreign Aid under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
In special flight, an Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad plane arrived in Brasília this Monday (6) morning. Equipment such as face coverings, gloves, and protection aprons were welcomed by the Ministry of Defense and will be distributed by the Ministry of Health in hospitals across the country, according to the Brazilian ambassador to Abu Dhabi, Fernando Igreja (picture above, on the right, with a representative of the UAE government).
From Brasília, the plane continues to Montevideo, taking materials to the Uruguayan government. The ambassador said that the UAE has made this kind of donations to several countries.
Igreja believes that the donation results from the good bilateral relations between Brazil and the UAE. “In addition to its importance to help fighting the pandemic, [this donation] shows the interest of both countries in strengthening the strategic partnership that was established during the visit of Mr. President [Jair Bolsonaro] last October. In times of social distancing across the world, officials from both countries have kept in touch, which allowed for this cooperation,” the ambassador said.
The UAE reported 51,540 cases and 323 from COVID-19 so far. Brazil is the second worst affected country, after the United States. At the time of report, Brazil had reported 1,577,004 cases and 64,265 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda