Emirates sends medical aid to Peru to combat COVID-19

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday sent a relief plane carrying five metric tons of medical supplies to Lima, the capital of Peru, to reinforce the Latin American country's work to contain the spread of COVID-19, which has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions of cases diagnosed worldwide. 

The equipment will serve approximately 5,000 medical professionals as they work to curb the coronavirus pandemic, which has already caused more than 10,000 deaths and affected more than 290,000 people in Peru. 

Commenting on this supply of medical equipment, Jassim Saif al-Shamsi, Chargé d'Affaires at the UAE Embassy in Lima, said that "the dispatch of a medical aid plane to Peru shows that UAE assistance can reach anywhere in the world," and that "it also reflects the belief of our wise leadership that we live in a unique world where efforts and potential must be united to address this dangerous pandemic that threatens humanity.

"UAE's assistance to Peru reflects the strength of the lasting relationship between the two countries which represents constructive and consensual cooperation at all levels. It is also part of the tireless work the UAE is doing to extend a helping hand to Peru by helping support medical workers and providing them with the necessary supplies to enhance their efforts to contain the pandemic," Al-Shamsi said in a statement released by the official Emirate news agency WAM.

To date, the UAE has responded to the COVID-19 crisis by providing more than 1,000 metric tonnes of aid to 70 countries, supporting more than one million medical professionals in the process. The Gulf nation's work in international cooperation to assist various countries in the fight against the coronavirus is more than remarkable. The Emirates has already provided aid that supports more than one million medical professionals around the globe, sending more than 1,000 tons of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies and food products. 

As the world's most active provider of foreign assistance to counter the coronavirus, the UAE has helped 70 nations without any impediment due to politics, race or religion (in fact, the UAE has already assisted a major Middle Eastern rival, the Islamic Republic of Iran, on up to four occasions). The Arab nation has provided assistance to world powers and also to nations with fewer resources; a long list that includes countries such as China, the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, the aforementioned Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Brazil, Russia, Yemen, Ghana, Cuba and Afghanistan, among others.