PHNOM PENH, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- A chartered flight carrying the first batch of the China-donated Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Cambodia on Sunday, welcomed by Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen at the Phnom Penh International Airport.
A handover ceremony of the vaccines was held at the airport, which was also attended by the Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian.
Addressing the ceremony, Hun Sen expressed gratitude to China for donating vaccines to his country.
"Vaccines are a key strategic solution that can save people's lives, improve long-term public health, and guarantee the overall recovery of economic and social activities," he said.
"A Cambodian proverb says 'a good friend must help each other in difficult times.' In this sense, the donation of the vaccines is a new testament to the iron friendship and close cooperation between the two countries and peoples," he added.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Wang said Cambodia is one of the first countries to receive vaccine assistance from China and that the donation clearly showed China's commitment to making its COVID-19 vaccines global public goods.
China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine has been recognized as a safe and effective vaccine, ordered and approved for use in many countries, Hun Sen has said.
He has said a vaccination drive against COVID-19 will be launched in Cambodia on Feb. 10 with the country's medical workers, armed forces members, teachers, journalists, tuk-tuk and taxi drivers, and garbage collectors being among the first people to take shots.
Cambodian authorities have authorized the emergency use of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in the country, noting that "the vaccine is used safely in China and other countries."
Cambodia has so far reported 474 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with zero deaths and 454 recoveries.
