Doha - Angola and Qatar may cooperate in the area of health research, a possibility raised this Tuesday (7), after the visit made by the Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança da Costa, to Bio-Molecular Labs, Studies and Human Genome, located in Doha, capital of Qatar.
Esperança da Costa's trip to the research centre took place on the sidelines of the works of the United Nations LDC5 Conference, which is taking place in Doha from 5 to 9 March, in which she participates on behalf of the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço.
In brief statements to the press, the Director of Research and responsible for the Precision Medicine Programme, Khalid Fakhro, said he was very honoured at the visit, which, in his view, means Angola's interest in research matters.
He said this is a very clear sign that, within the framework of bilateral relations between Angola and Qatar, the two countries will be able, perhaps, to initiate contacts in the area of research, adding that the laboratory, one of the best and largest in the world, has the purpose of creating a Middle East-wide belt for disease discovery.
It was learned on the spot that the laboratory, founded seven years ago and belonging to the Qatar Foundation, receives many patients with rare genetic diseases, including some hopeless ones. The unit also performs genetic screening.
Vice-President, Esperança Costa, also visited the headquarters of the Qatar Foundation, a non-profit organization, founded in 1995, whose projects are focused on education, from pre-school to post-graduation, research and innovation, and initiatives communities.
