CAIRO - China and Egypt have donated 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Palestine to boost its fight against the pandemic, the Chinese Embassy to Egypt said in a statement Monday.

The vaccines were locally produced in Egypt through a partnership between Egypt's Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac, according to Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, Egypt's acting health minister and higher education minister, who attended a ceremony held at VACSERA's headquarters on Sunday to mark the donation.

"We celebrate the delivery of a batch of aid as a joint gift from China and Egypt to our Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip," the statement quoted Abdel-Ghaffar as saying.

Egypt has so far produced more than 30 million doses of the vaccine, and their safety and efficiency are guaranteed, he said, adding Egypt has carried out wonderful cooperation with China since the beginning of the pandemic.

"This batch of aid to Palestine marks the first time for Egypt to send its locally produced COVID-19 vaccines abroad," he stressed.

The Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang, who was also present at the ceremony, described the joint donation as a "new and crucial step" through which the Chinese and the Egyptian governments cooperate to help the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip fight the pandemic and alleviate the humanitarian crisis there.

According to Liao, the donation demonstrates that both China and Egypt have attached great importance to the Palestinian people's health and the Palestinian cause. It also reflects the high level of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Egypt.

As a sincere friend to the Palestinian people, a responsible major country and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China will continue to cooperate with the international community, including Egypt, to push for the settlement of the Palestinian issue, and make positive contributions to achieving permanent peace and stability in the Middle East, said the Chinese ambassador.

Nidaa Barghouti, a representative from the Palestinian Embassy in Egypt, expressed sincere thanks to both China and Egypt, saying that China and Egypt are good friends of the Palestinian people.

"The Palestinian side highly commends China and Egypt for their consistent support for the just cause of the Palestinian people," she said, adding those vaccines is of great significance for them to fight the pandemic.