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Iranian and Cuban scientists are increasing cooperation in the health sector, and together they are producing a vaccine against a bacterium that causes various infections.
The Persian Minister of Health, Said Namaki, and the Cuban Ambassador in Iran, Alexis Bandrich Vega, held a meeting this Wednesday in Teheran, the Iranian capital. Besides underlining the two countries' trajectory in joint projects in the health sector, they have advocated further increased cooperation in the field.
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"We have a long tradition of cooperation and, despite the pressures from the U.S. and the Zionists, that tradition remains strong. I had the honor of meeting a Cuban biologist for the first time three decades ago and inviting him to the Pasteur Institute to work together in a variety of fields," Namaki said.
The Persian minister has highlighted the vaccine's joint production against hepatitis B by Teheran and Havana and the vaccine against pneumococcus. This bacterium causes both mild and severe infections such as pneumonia.
As Namaki pointed out, Iran, as "one of the leading countries in the production of raw materials in various fields, such as petrochemical and pharmaceutical," is willing to strengthen its cooperation with Cuba in all fields, including the fight against the new coronavirus, the cause of COVID-19.
@JZarif visited CEA and Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología (CIGB) in Cuba. Directors of the two centers elaborated on the achievements with regard to production of #COVID19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/IFBDfLMbhv
— IranGov.ir (@Iran_GOV) November 6, 2020
Further, he considered the policy of sanctions and restrictions by the U.S. and its allies, which has connected Iran and Cuba. "These pressures have created a common language and joint cooperation between Iran and Cuba," he added.
Meanwhile, the Cuban ambassador has denounced that U.S. sanctions have caused "genocide and damage" in several parts of the world.
"The Americans made every effort to impose brutal sanctions; however, Iran and Cuba did not back down," said Bandrich Vega, who has evaluated his talks with Namaki as positive.
The Cuban diplomat also condemned the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fajrizade and has emphasized that the island rejects terrorism, in any form, and "demands respect for the independence of all countries."
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