100,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine arrived today
Timor-Leste received today, June 5th, 2021, 100 thousand Sinovac vaccine doses and 100.800 syringes donated by the People's Republic of China.
At the delivery ceremony, held at Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport, the Vice-Prime Minister, Armanda Berta dos Santos, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Adaljiza Albertina Xavier Reis Magno and the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo, formally received the vaccines and supplies from the Chinese Ambassador in Timor-Leste, Xiao Jianguo.
The arrival of the Sinovac vaccines follows a request from the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, to his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, in March this year, for support in sending vaccines to Timor-Leste.
The Vice-Prime Minister thanked, "on behalf of the Government, the support of the people and the Government of China”. She also thanked the "Ambassador, Xiao Jianguo, for all the effort made for the arrival of these vaccines," which "once again demonstrate the strong ties of friendship between the two countries”.
The Chinese Ambassador, in his intervention recalled that "so far, China has donated 12 lots of medical supplies to Timor-Leste, and another lot of medical supplies is being prepared, and should arrive soon in Dili".
The diplomat noted that "by the end of May, over 600 million doses of Sinovac had been distributed in China and abroad, in countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Pakistan, Hungary, Mexico, Thailand and Turkey”.
He also stressed that, "Sinovac was approved by the World Health Organisation", which means that this vaccine "meets international safety, efficacy and manufacturing standards".
The ceremony also had the participation of representatives in Timor-Leste from UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.
