Netanyahu says Israel, Denmark, Austria will cooperate against virus

Mar 4, 2021

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a joint press conference in Jerusalem this afternoon with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, in Israel for a one-day visit. The three leaders pledged to work together to increase global vaccine production and prepare for future pandemics.

“We are now emerging from the corona with the Green Passport having vaccinated — well, 90% of our population that has received one jab or two or has already recovered — so we don’t have that far to go … I think Israel serves as model for the world and we are discussing some of these experiences, sharing those experiences with our friends,” said Netanyahu.

The prime minister went on to explain the purpose of “the vaccine summit,” saying, “We have to protect our peoples against the reemergence of this pandemic or mutations, and we want to create two capacities. We think that by joining our resources, of three small but very able and gifted countries, we can better meet these challenges. What we are talking about is establishing a joint RD fund of Israel, Austria and Denmark, and beginning joint efforts for common production of future vaccines.”

Netanyahu said that vaccine production demands several kinds of capabilities and expertise, so the idea would be to divide production between the three, with each of the countries focusing on and advancing the production aspects it knows best. 

Frederiksen noted that the three countries have worked together for a year, ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, saying, “Today’s meeting has provided me with a lot of inspiration on how we can work closer together when it comes to research and when it comes to production capacities.”