CAIRO: Kazakhstan intends to supply Egypt with 5 million doses of its locally made QazVac coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine as soon as it is approved by the Egyptian Drug Authority. The decision came during a meeting between Kazakh Ambassador to Egypt Khairat Lama Sharif and Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and acting Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar. The meeting saw the two parties discuss cooperation in manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines, through Egyptian vaccine producer Vacsera and the Medical Research Center in Kazakhstan, as well as cooperation in the medical field at large. The minister stated that the procedures for registering and approving the QazVac vaccine in Egypt would soon begin and that the vaccine would be subject to the necessary analyses and checks in the laboratories of the Egyptian Drug Authority to ensure its safety and effectiveness before it is approved. The two parties also discussed travel safety and movement between Egypt and Kazakhstan, as well as the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates. The ambassador expressed his hopes that cooperation between the two countries would continue and that Egypt would continue sharing its expertise in manufacturing vaccines with Kazakhstan.