Zairf hails Iran-Cuba scientific cooperation on vaccine

TEHRAN (Defapress) - Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has praised the scientific cooperation between Iran and Cuba, especially in the fields of biotechnology and genetic engineering.

News ID: 83625

Date: 27 July 2021 - 03:30

Zarif made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting head of Finlay Vaccine Institute (IFV) Vicente Vérez Bencomo, in Tehran on Monday afternoon.

The head of the Cuban Finlay vaccine institute has been in Tehran since yesterday to discuss with the Iranian medical officials the continuation of joint production of anti-Covid-19 vaccines.

In the meeting, the top Iranian diplomat hailed the scientific cooperation between Iran and Cuba, especially in the fields of biotechnology and genetic engineering, and attached great importance to the Iran-Cuba joint production of Covid-19 vaccine.

During the meeting, Dr. Vicente Vérez Bencomo, for his part, explained the cooperation between the vaccine institutes of the two countries on jointly producing the Covid-19 vaccine and the unique features of the jointly manufactured vaccine, and thanked Dr. Zarif and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for rapidly advancing cooperation between the two countries to produce a joint vaccine.

During the meeting, the Cuban ambassador to Tehran, too, described Dr. Zarif's visit to his country last year as very important for the start of cooperation between the Pasteur Institute of Iran and Cuban Finlay in co-producing the Covid 19 vaccine.

Dr. Vicente arrived in Tehran yesterday and held a joint press conference with the Head of the Pasteur Institute of Iran Alireza Biglari during which the Iranian side said that the vaccine manufactured jointly by Iran and Cuba is the only vaccine that can fight several variants of Covid-19 highly effectively.

Alireza Biglari also said in yesterday's press conference that the Iranian-Cuban vaccine is 91.2% effective against the worst variants of Covid-19 such as the South African and Californian variants.