KABUL, Dec 10 (NNN-XINHUA) – A batch of COVID-19 vaccines, donated by the Chinese government, arrived in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on Wednesday.
A handover ceremony was held at Kabul international airport, attended by Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan, Wang Yu, and deputy minister of Afghanistan’s Public Health Ministry, Abdul Bari Omar.
Since the political situation in Afghanistan changed, China announced to donate three million doses of vaccines and other medical supplies to Afghanistan, Wang said, at the ceremony.
In order to help Afghanistan overcome the current difficulties, China is now accelerating the work on 200 million yuan (31 million USD) worth of emergency assistance to Afghanistan, including food, winter supplies, vaccines and medicines, he said.
Wang noted, China is importing a large amount of pine nuts that will bring Afghan pine nut farmers with the income reaching hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars. Moreover, China will assist Afghanistan in further expanding its export that could help improve people’s livelihood.
For his part, Omar expressed his appreciation to the Chinese government for the donation and support provided to Afghanistan. He said, the donation is very important for the people of Afghanistan in this critical situation.
This shipment of Sinopharm vaccines is the second Chinese donation to Afghanistan. The first batch of China-donated COVID-19 vaccines was handed over in June.– NNN-XINHUA
