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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday reaffirmed his country’s commitment to provide COVID-19 vaccines to African countries as soon as they are available for use.
“When the development of the vaccines is complete and available for use, China will actively consider providing them to African countries in need to help ensure an early victory against the virus,” Yi said.
The Chinese top diplomat made the statement during a ceremony in Beijing to mark the 20th anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Several African ambassadors to China attended the ceremony.
Yi’s statement concerns Morocco directly, as several agreements link the North African country with Chinese laboratories.
In August, Morocco signed two cooperation agreements with China National Biotec Group Company Limited (CNBG) to participate in clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The agreements provide a legal framework for cooperation in phase III clinical trials of a Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.
“We decided to conduct these multicenter clinical trials of the vaccine together, for the first unprecedented time in Moroccan history,” announced Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
The agreements will also allow Morocco to produce doses of the vaccine locally once it is available for use.
Read also: Morocco and China CNBG sign 2 agreements on COVID-19 vaccine trials
Last week, the Moroccan Ministry of Health announced that it will launch a national vaccination campaign against COVID-19 “in the coming weeks.” The announcement could have been an indication that the Sinopharm vaccine will soon be available.
On Thursday, the Head of Government, Saad Eddine El Othmani, said that Morocco has chosen a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine for its next vaccination campaign. However, he did not reveal the origin of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, indicators such as the agreements between Morocco and China and the recent announcement by Sinopharm that the results of clinical trials of its vaccine are “better than expected” suggest that Morocco will use a Chinese vaccine in its campaign.
Read also: El Othmani: Morocco chose a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine
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