Mozambique has taken delivery of its first 200,000 doses of a vaccine against COVID-19 supplied by Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd of China, the Chinese Embassy in Maputo says.

In accepting the gift of the vaccine, Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário said it reflected the strength of Sino-Mozambican friendship, according to a written statement issued by the embassy on Wednesday.

China is willing to facilitate the supply of more vaccine to Mozambique, the statement quotes Chinese Ambassador to Mozambique Wang Hejun as saying at the turnover of the shipment.

Separately, the Portuguese news agency, Lusa, quotes Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi as saying in a social media post that the delivery of the vaccine follows contacts he had with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the past two months.

The vaccine will be given first to people in the front line of the battle against COVID-19, such as health workers, Lusa quotes Mr Nyusi as saying.