ABU DHABI —A s part of its group-wide response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, on Tuesday announced a strategic collaboration between its wholly owned subsidiary, Strata Manufacturing, and Honeywell, to produce N95 respirators at Strata’s Al Ain facility. The new N95 respirator manufacturing line, which has now commenced operations, will be the first of its kind in the GCC region, and will have an annual output capacity of over 30 million masks. The collaboration between Strata and Honeywell aims to address the need for Personal Protective Equipment, PPE, one of the most significant challenges currently facing governments and organizations globally as they work to limit the spread of COVID-19. N95 masks are respiratory protective devices that play an important role in filtering out airborne particles. Currently, the UAE imports all N95 respirators from abroad. This manufacturing line will not only be able to meet the national requirements of the UAE’s health industry for the masks, but also transform the UAE into an exporter of this critical PPE product. Commenting on the collaboration, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Mubadala, said: "As a responsible investor, we have been working across our global portfolio with local and international organizations to collectively respond to the COVID-19 crisis. By collaborating with our longstanding and valued partner, Honeywell, we will be able to deliver critical support to frontline healthcare workers and members of the wider community. This new manufacturing capability will help address the critical demand for N95 respirators, and bolster the resilience of UAE’s PPE supply chains." Darius Adamczyk, Chairman and CEO of Honeywell, said: "As a global leader in advanced worker safety technologies, Honeywell is committed to ensuring that PPE products are being placed quickly and cost-effectively in the hands of those most in need, including medical professionals and those on the front lines of the fight against the spread of COVID-19. Mubadala has world-class manufacturing capabilities through its Strata subsidiary, and we are proud to extend the long standing, valued partnership between our companies to bring high quality respiratory manufacturing to the Middle East." Mubadala’s collaboration with Honeywell is part of its #WeAreDedicated campaign — the company’s group-wide response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its efforts to coordinate initiatives across its business platforms and assets to support communities locally and internationally. — WAM