TUNIS — A relief cargo plane, dispatched by King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) Thursday arrived in Tunis with 608,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, representing the first batch of vaccines, to contribute to fighting the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The assistance comes in implementation of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. It also comes in response to a request by Tunisian President Kais Saied during a telephone call with Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense.

Saudi Ambassador to Tunisia Abdulaziz Bin Ali Al-Saqr, Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs Othman Al-Jerandi, Tunisian Health Minister Ali Mrabet, and Advisor at the Tunisian Presidency Walid Al-Hajjam received the plane upon its arrival in Tunisia.

The Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), expressed happiness on the arrival of a new batch of medical assistance from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia. This batch is out of a total of one million doses that King Salman Saud directed to offer to Tunisia as part of a pack of medical assistance.

The minister also expressed his appreciation for Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Crown Prince for this noble position and supporting Tunisia in facing this wave of the pandemic.

He said: “The stance of Saudi Arabia stresses the historical relations that connect the two brotherly peoples and reflects the noble humanitarian role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with brotherly and friendly countries.”

Al-Jerandi stressed that Tunisia’s leadership and people highly appreciate this kind support from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia during this critical juncture.

For his part, the Tunisian health minister expressed appreciation and gratitude to Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of King Salman and the Crown Prince, for this noble gesture towards Tunisia, stressing that Saudi Arabia was among the first brotherly countries that rushed to help the Tunisian people in facing the pandemic.

The minister reiterated that such noble positions of the Kingdom will contribute to further increasing brotherly bonds between the two countries and strengthening the values of cooperation and solidarity.

For his part, Al-Hajjam voiced President Saied’s appreciation to his brother Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Crown Prince for this noble humanitarian stance towards Tunisia and for the continuous relief aid bridge from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia to help the needy and infected people.

He stressed that the Saudi medical assistance has a big impact in supporting the Tunisian medical efforts in facing the pandemic whose impacts have started to decrease.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Ambassador voiced keenness of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Crown Prince to support Tunisia and provide it with the medical support it needs to face the pandemic.

This initiative embodies the usual civil humanitarian aspect of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and reflects the solid brotherly relations between the leaderships of the two countries. — SPA