"As a gesture of solidarity in the face of vaccine shortages and risks posed by new coronavirus variants, Poland will hand over 400,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Taiwan," the Polish foreign ministry said in a statement at the weekend.
"This makes Poland Taiwan’s third largest vaccine donor, after the US and Japan," it added.
Taiwanese officials welcome a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from Poland at Taoyuan International Airport on Sunday. Photo: EPA/TAIWAN CDC via PAP
The delivery is a reciprocal move after Taiwan donated medical equipment during the first wave of the pandemic, according to the foreign ministry in Warsaw.
"During the first wave of the pandemic, Taiwan donated 1,000,000 face masks, 5,000 protective suits, and 20,000 surgical gowns to Poland," the Polish foreign ministry's statement said. "Bearing in mind this important gesture of solidarity, Poland will now donate over 400,000 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses to Taiwan to step up its vaccination efforts."
"Increasing the global number of vaccinated people is in everyone’s interest," the Polish foreign ministry added.
Taiwan's foreign ministry has thanked Poland for the donation, news agencies reported.
It said in a tweet on Sunday that it was "touched by this magnanimous gesture" from "the government and people of the EU member state."
'Close cooperation' with Taiwan amid pandemic
The Polish foreign ministry said the donation was "yet another recent example of close cooperation between Poland and Taiwan "in the face of difficult challenges."
In May, the Polish Office in Taipei handed over 1,500 protective suits to Taipei City Hall, according to the foreign ministry in Warsaw.
"During the pandemic, Poland also helped Taiwanese students get back home, co-organising directs flights from Warsaw to Taipei on board a special chartered aircraft of LOT Polish Airlines," the Polish foreign ministry also said in its statement.
It added: "At present, about 1,000 Taiwanese doctors educated at Polish medical universities are involved in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in Taiwan."
While a relatively small domestic coronavirus outbreak is well under control in Chinese-claimed Taiwan, only around 5 percent of its 23.5 million population are fully vaccinated, the Reuters news agency reported.
Poland ready to donate 'more vaccine batches to other foreign partners'
The Polish foreign ministry said that "depending on the epidemiological situation across the world, humanitarian needs, as well as our capacities and supplies, in the future we may donate more vaccine batches to other foreign partners in need, guided by the principle of solidarity, which is the cornerstone of the Polish government’s domestic and international policies."
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison in mid-August thanked Poland for sharing 1 million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines with his country "on a not-for-profit basis."
The Polish prime minister’s top aide, Michał Dworczyk, said last month that the country had agreed to share its COVID-19 vaccine surplus with Spain, Portugal, Norway and Ukraine, in addition to Australia.
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Source: TVP, PAP, Reuters, gov.pl