PHNOM PENH, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong said that China's generous donation of COVID-19 vaccines to Cambodia symbolizes long-lasting friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by China arrived in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Sunday and an inoculation drive will be launched on Wednesday.

Namhong expressed his heartfelt gratitude to China for providing the Sinopharm vaccine to Cambodia, saying that it was the first vaccine that Cambodia had received so far.

This donation symbolizes our long lasting friendship and cooperation written down in the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and the the plan of action for building the Cambodia-China Community of Shared Future (2019-2023), he told Xinhua on Sunday.

"I am confident that this valuable donation will certainly contribute to preventing the COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia, even though we will receive, in coming months, more vaccines from dialogue partners and WHO's Covax to inoculate millions of our people," he added.

Namhong said he observed that Chinese vaccines have been utilized to vaccinate millions of people in China as well as in some countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

"According to information I received, these vaccines have had efficacy and no side effect," he said. "Many leaders of these countries have been inoculated voluntarily with these Chinese vaccines."

He said COVID-19 vaccines should not be a contentious issue among countries and producers, but should be utilized to keep safe the peoples around the world, especially in developing countries.

Meanwhile, the deputy prime minister praised China for having provided vaccines to developing countries, saying that its emergency aid is crucial because developing countries have limited financial resources to purchase vaccines.

The Southeast Asian nation has seen remarkable success in containing the spread of COVID-19. According to the Ministry of Health, the kingdom has so far registered a total of 474 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with zero deaths and 456 recoveries.