Australia pledges three million COVID-19 vaccines to Cambodia

FILE PHOTO: Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks with media during a news conference at the Government Office in Hanoi, Vietnam October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Kham

Australia has pledged more than three million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday, which would help the Southeast nation give booster shots to its people.

The assurance came during a visit by Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne aimed at expanding bilateral ties.

Cambodia has vaccinated 87% of its more than 16 million people, one of Asia's highest inoculation rates.

FILE PHOTO: Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne speaks during the 2+2 meeting with Australia's Defence Minister Peter Dutton, South Korea's Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defence Minister Suh Wook at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea September 13, 2021. Jung Yeon-je/Pool via REUTERS

"The Australian government has decided to provide Cambodia with 3,250,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, of which 1 million will be delivered to Cambodia before the end of this year," Hun Sen said on his official Facebook page.

The country has already given two million booster shots and begun inoculating children. Payne met Hun Sun and her counterpart Prak Sokhonn.

Hun Sen declared the country fully open last week and the government has said tourist locations for vaccinated travellers will also be reopened by the end of this month.

(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)