Cambodia, China ink deal to build COVID-19 vaccine filling factory in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and China on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the construction of a COVID-19 vaccine filling and packaging factory in Cambodia.

The MoU was inked by Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng and Gao Qiang, general manager of Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd. via video link.

Under the deal, the Cambodia Pharmaceutical Enterprise is given rights to build a COVID-19 vaccine filling and packaging factory and the Cambodian government has contracted to purchase the vaccines from the factory for three years from 2024 to 2026, Bunheng said.

"The construction of the vaccine filling and packaging factory is to meet the demand of vaccines among Cambodians and foreigners living in Cambodia," he said at the event.

Cambodia has so far administered COVID-19 vaccines to over 15 million people, or 94 percent of its total population of 16 million, the Ministry of Health said, adding that China's Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines have been widely used in the kingdom's immunization program.

Buoyed by its high vaccination rates, Cambodia has resumed all socioeconomic activities and reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers without quarantine since last November.

According to the Ministry of Health, the southeast Asian nation has reported no new cases of COVID-19 for the last 25 days, and only four active cases remain in the kingdom.