ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

China on Thursday assured Pakistan that Beijing will provide more than one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Islamabad for emergency use.

This came in a phone talk between Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, according to a statement by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.

Qureshi said that Pakistan had approved Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use in Pakistan and expressed hope for its early availability from China.

Responding to Qureshi, Wang said China would work to provide over one million doses of the vaccine to Pakistan for emergency use.

Earlier Thursday, Pakistan government decided to purchase 1.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm.

The two foreign ministers also discussed the regional security, bilateral issues including progress of multi-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Wang also extended an invitation to Qureshi to visit China at his earliest convenience, which the latter accepted.​​​​​​​