Another 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines arrived at BIA

Another 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines as a grant from China arrived at Bandaranayake International Airport (BIA) last midnight.

This is the second shipment of vaccines as a gift by Chinese people to Sri Lankan people after 600,000 doses Sinopharm vaccines arrived on March 31 to contain the pandemic spread in the country.

Taking part in the handing over ceremony of the shipment, the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong noted that the timely arrival of the vaccines would be very useful for the Sri Lankan people in fighting against COVID-19 at the critical conjunction.

“COVID-19 is our common enemy. Building a global community of health is our common goal. Unity and solidarity are the most powerful weapons fighting the pandemic, and vaccine sharing is the only magic solution to ultimately defeat the pandemic,” Ambassador Zhenhong said.

At the Global Health Summit on May 21st, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China has offered 2 billion US dollars in aid so far to developing countries as well as free vaccines for 80 countries with 43 other countries importing its vaccines, the Chinese embassy in Colombo added in a statement.

In continued support for global solidarity against COVID-19, China will provide an additional 3 billion US dollars in international aid over the next three years, provide more vaccines to the best of its ability, and support its vaccine companies in transferring technologies to other developing countries including Sri Lanka, and carrying out joint production with them.  

In the video conference on April 27, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and their Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan counterparts reached a series of important consensus and concrete outcomes, on jointly responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and recovering the economy. The arrival of the vaccines today is a direct delivery of their consensus and outcomes.

“Since the outbreak of the pandemic, China and Sri Lanka have always supported and helped each other, lifting our traditional friendship to a new height. As a good neighbor, good friend and good partner of Sri Lanka through thick and thin, no matter in the past, present or future, as long as something is beneficial to Sri Lanka, China will never be absent,” Ambassador Qi Zhenhong stressed.