Phnom Penh (FN), Aug. 5 – Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen will preside over the handover ceremony of 415,000 doses of the UK-aided AstraZeneca at Phnom Penh International Airport on Thursday afternoon.

Cambodia is among the first countries to receive 415,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the United Kingdom in a bilateral agreement this week, according to UK government’s press release seen by Fresh News on 29 July 2021.

“These 415,000 AstraZeneca vaccines will support local communities in Cambodia to restart businesses, protect health services and restore livelihoods. I am delighted the UK is fulfilling its commitment to donate vaccines across the world both bilaterally, as in this case, and through COVAX including here in Cambodia,” said British ambassador to Cambodia Tina Redshaw.

The UK is donating 415,000 vaccines to Cambodia to help them fight the pandemic. The vaccines will help to protect people in the country, as well as to safeguard against new variants, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office wrote on 3 August 2021.

UK is the third country to provide vaccine assistance in a bilateral agreement to Cambodia, after China and Japan.

Cambodian premier stated that vaccine assistance from Cambodia’s friends, including China, Japan and the United Kingdom, reflected Cambodia's diversified friendship.

“It is no longer possible to say that Hun Sen is solely dependent on China. Cambodia accepts assistances from any country, including Japan, the United States, the UK, and Australia. The only thing I know exactly is from which country Cambodia can strategically receive and purchase vaccines," the premier spoke during the start of the campaign to vaccinate children aged 12-17 years old on 1 August 2021.

So far, Cambodia has received 3.2 million doses of China-aided COVID19 vaccine, 1 million doses of Japan-aided vaccine, and 415,000 doses of the UK-aided vaccine. Cambodia has also received 1,384,100 doses of COVID19 vaccine from the COVAX Facility.
=FRESH NEWS