COLOMBO, Aug 29 (NNN-XINHUA) – Sri Lanka’s Defence authorities, yesterday received a batch of 300,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine, donated by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China.
The vaccines, which arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport yesterday morning, have been handed over to Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, General Kamal Gunaratne, by Wang Dong, defence attaché of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Defence Secretary Gunaratne said, the service personnel, their families and the ex-servicemen are expected to be vaccinated with the vaccines.
“Since a greater number of service personnel have been vaccinated as of now, the general public could also be facilitated using the balance amount,” he said.
Expressing gratitude to China for the timely support, General Gunaratne said, “We are so happy that, as a result of a request made by the Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka, to the Defence Minister of China, we received 300,000 doses of vaccines for members of the security forces and their family. This is a timely donation.”
Recalling the remarkable and long-standing relationship between the two countries, Wan Dong said, the Chinese people have never hesitated to extend their support to the Sri Lankans.
The donation shows the solidarity between the two countries, in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.
On his Twitter account, Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, thanked China’s PLA for the donation, saying, the assistance will ensure the vaccination drive in Sri Lanka a success.
Army Commander, General Shavendra Silva, said that, on the same flight, two million more doses of the Sinopharm vaccines had also arrived from China.
Sri Lanka has so far received 18 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, which is the leading vaccine being administered across the country.– NNN-XINHUA
