Phnom Penh, May 17 (IANS): A flight carrying the fourth batch of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine Cambodia purchased from the Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech arrived in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Sunday.

Cambodia's health ministry secretary of state Yok Sambath noted that the Covid-19 vaccine is essential for the Southeast Asian country to fight against the pandemic, expressing gratitude to China for its timely supply of the vaccine, the Xinhua news agency reported.

"This is another testament to the iron-clad friendship and close cooperation between Cambodia and China," she told reporters while receiving the vaccine at the Phnom Penh International Airport.

Sambath said that both China's Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines are "very safe and effective".

Cambodia has acquired Covid-19 vaccines from both China and the World Health Organization-led COVAX Facility.

The kingdom launched a Covid-19 inoculation drive on February 10. To date, some 2.06 million out of the 10-million-target population have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Cambodia logged 350 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, bringing the total tally to 22,184 with 150 deaths and 12,120 recoveries.