The Cambodian government on Sunday received the first batch of 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian attended a handover ceremony that was held at the Phnom Penh international airport on Sunday afternoon, shortly after the donations arrived.

Cambodia was among the first batch of countries to receive vaccine donations from China. China will send a total of 1 million Sinopharm vaccine vials to Cambodia, which will be used to inoculate 500,000 people.

According to ambassador Wang, some of the first batch of vaccines that arrived in Cambodia are donations from the Chinese People's Liberation Army, which embodies the special and deep bond between the two countries and the two militaries. 

In a welcome speech at the airport, Hun Sen thanked China for the vaccines. 

Good friends help each other in times of need, and the vaccine aid by China is another testimony to the steel ties and strong cooperation between the two countries and peoples, he said. 

He stressed that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinopharm has been publicly recognized as safe and effective, and has won a large number of orders from many countries around the world.

Cambodian Ministry of Health authorized the emergency use of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, saying that "the vaccine is used safely in China and other countries."

The vaccines will be provided free-of-charge to people who are at a high risk of getting infections such as medics, teachers, armed forces and taxi drivers, among others.