TUNIS, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- On the occasion of the end of the 24th Chinese medical mission in Tunisia, an official ceremony took place on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Tunisian health ministry in Tunis.

The ceremony was co-chaired by Tunisian Minister of Health Faouzi Mehdi and China's Ambassador to Tunisia Zhang Jianguo.

At his inaugural speech, the Tunisian health minister expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for its support and assistance to Tunisia, adding that the relations between the two countries have been friendly for a long time and have witnessed development in recent years.

According to Mehdi, the event was dedicated particularly to the examination of the tools likely to strengthen and boost Tunisian-Chinese bilateral cooperation and also to give the award of thanks in honor of the members of the Chinese medical mission, which was made up of around 30 doctors and paramedical staff, who will soon leave Tunisia.

"The Chinese medical team has accomplished its mission perfectly, we recognize their effort and all the services offered to our population in several regions," Mehdi commented.

Mehdi announced the arrival of a new Chinese medical team of different specialities, already in Tunisia and currently in preventive quarantine.

"This new Chinese medical team will operate, once out of quarantine, in four hospitals in Tunisia," Mehdi told Xinhua.

For his part, the Chinese ambassador hailed the Chinese-Tunisian cooperation in the health sector.

Zhang expressed his happiness with the presence of some representatives of the Chinese medical mission "who have just completed a year of hard work, hand in hand with Tunisian doctors, not only here in the capital Tunis, but also in other provinces of the country."

"I am very happy to be able to sign a donation document from the Chinese Embassy which includes masks and protective suits with the Health Ministry," said the Chinese ambassador.

"I believe that the Chinese-Tunisian bilateral cooperation in the field of public health is an exemplary cooperation... I hope that this cooperation will be further strengthened, especially during the post-epidemic period," said the Chinese diplomat.

China dispatched the first medical mission to Tunisia in 1973, and since then, many Chinese doctors have been sent to Tunisia to help the country in the fields including general surgery, obstetrics, radiography, pediatrics, orthopedics, cardiology and acupuncture.