A friend in need is a friend indeed, says Chinese envoy

Following are remarks of Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong made at the hand-over ceremony of 500,000 Sinopharm vaccines at the Bandaranaike International Airport early this week.

On 31 March, we jointly welcomed the arrival of the 600,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines, a gift by Chinese people to Sri Lankan people. Today, we are highly pleased to receive China’s latest aid once again, another 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines for Sri Lanka. We believe that it would be very useful for the Sri Lankan people in fighting against COVID-19 at the critical conjunction.

COVID-19 is our common enemy. Building a global community of health is our common goal. Unity and solidarity are the most powerful weapons fighting the pandemic, and vaccine sharing is the only magic solution to ultimately defeat the pandemic. At the Global Health Summit on 21 May, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China has offered $ 2 billion in aid so far to developing countries as well as free vaccines for 80 countries with 43 other countries importing its vaccines. 

In continued support for global solidarity against COVID-19, China will provide an additional $ 3 billion in international aid over the next three years, provide more vaccines to the best of its ability, and support its vaccine companies in transferring technologies to other developing countries including Sri Lanka, and carrying out joint production with them. 

In the video conference on 27 April, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and their Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan counterparts reached a series of important consensus and concrete outcomes, on jointly responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and recovering the economy. The arrival of the vaccines today is a direct delivery of their consensus and outcomes. 

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, China and Sri Lanka have always supported and helped each other, lifting our traditional friendship to a new height. As a good neighbour, good friend and good partner of Sri Lanka through thick and thin, no matter in the past, present or future, as long as something is beneficial to Sri Lanka, China will never be absent. As long as some work delivers benefits to the Sri Lankan people, China will not hesitate to do it. 

On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to everyone for their selfless dedication to the China-Sri Lanka friendship. I sincerely wish Sri Lanka to overcome the pandemic at an early date!