Malaysia said on Wednesday it has signed an agreement with China to cooperate on the development of a safe and efficacious vaccine, as part of efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the agreement, in force for an initial period of five years, the Southeast Asian nation will be given priority access to COVID-19 vaccines developed by China.

Both will share knowledge and expertise and facilitate scientific and technological capabilities to advance vaccine development in their countries, Malaysia said in a joint ministerial statement.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin signed the agreement with his Chinese counterpart Wang Zhigang in a virtual ceremony. Cooperation between Malaysia and China under the agreement would be administered by a committee chaired by the foreign affairs ministers of both countries that was formed in October to address post-pandemic challenges.

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