China will provide the Egyptian Government with 300,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang has revealed.
Liqiang also said that Egypt is the first African country to obtain the Chinese-manufactured vaccine, which confirms the depth of the friendship between the two countries.
During a press conference on Sunday, the Ambassador noted that China is keen to provide as much support and assistance as possible to the international community. In this regard, the country is working to activate its cooperation with countries concerned with the production of vaccines.
Providing vaccines to the Egyptian side is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s commitment to this active cooperation, Liqiang said.
He added that China is constantly cooperating with the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide all information and data needed. The Ambassador also said that Chinese companies are open in their cooperation with their counterparts across the world.
Liqiang revealed that China will provide a batch of vaccines to the Arab League’s General Secretariat, as part of its keenness to support efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added that the joint Egyptian-Chinese cooperation in confronting the pandemic has effectively begun a new page of solidarity between the two. He also stressed that Beijing will not forget that Egypt was the first country to assist China in the beginning of the pandemic.
Consequently, China has provided batches of medical supplies to Egypt, to support the latter’s efforts in fighting the pandemic, he stated.
Liqiang said that the first batch of the Chinese vaccine arrived in Egypt from the UAE on 10 December, so that Egypt would be the first African country to receive the Chinese vaccine.
Moreover, on 25 January, cooperation in the field of vaccines was strengthened, and Egypt was the first African country to launch a vaccination campaign for medical staff.
He elaborated that China is determined to support developing countries in the framework of combating COVID-19, and cooperating with them by providing vaccines. This will ensure that the vaccines are provided for the public benefit and at an affordable cost.
