Pakistani ambassador to Cambodia Zaheeruddin Babar Thaheem praised Cambodia for controlling the spread of Covid-19 and achieving a nearly 100 per cent vaccination rate among the total population.
Babar Thaheem met with Minister of Health Mam Bun Heng on August 24 to discuss a proposal for a joint review of further cooperation on healthcare in the fields of medicine and medical equipment, according to ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine.
"[Thaheem] also praised the prime minister for his wisdom and strong leadership for controlling the Covid-19 crisis. He was impressed that Cambodia had such a high rate of vaccinations, saying he didn’t expect that the Kingdom would have accomplished this,” she said.
According to Vandine, Thaheem wanted the two countries to increase bilateral cooperation, especially between their health ministries.
The Pakistani ambassador suggested cooperation in the fields of medicine and medical equipment because her country has many large factories that produce such goods.
Thaheem noted that Pakistani-produced medicines and medical equipment are distributed all over the world and especially to countries in the region, including Cambodia, though he felt that there was more room for growth in the Kingdom's medical imports.
"Therefore, we will jointly review whether there is something we can do together to promote further cooperation," she said.
Bun Heng said the two countries would consider exchanging medical workers for training and sharing technology, with both sides agreeing on the common principles for detailed discussions down the road.
Separately, Australia will provide nearly 300,000 doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines for use by children.
Ministry secretary of state Youk Sambath said the 283,200 Pfizer doses will arrive in Cambodia on August 26, marking the second donation from the government and people of Australia to the Kingdom.
According to the health ministry, as of August 24 vaccination rate in Cambodia had reached 94.76 per cent out of the estimated population of 16 million. The numbers of people who have received their third, fourth and fifth doses now stand at 9.9 million, nearly four million and over 600,000, respectively.
