KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia said on Wednesday it has signed an agreement with China to cooperate on the development of a safe and efficacious vaccine, as part of efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
Under the agreement, in force for an initial period of five years, the Southeast Asian nation will be given priority access to Covid-19 vaccines developed by China. Both will share knowledge and expertise and facilitate scientific and technological capabilities to advance vaccine development in their countries, Malaysia said in a joint ministerial statement.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin signed the agreement with his Chinese counterpart Wang Zhigang in a virtual ceremony.
Cooperation between Malaysia and China under the agreement would be supervised by a committee chaired by the foreign affairs ministers of both countries that was formed in October to address post-pandemic challenges.
"Both countries will also support the participation of their public and private sectors including universities, institutions, societies and organisations in joint collaborative projects," the Malaysian ministries said.
