A nurse holds a syringe containing a COVID-19 vaccine made by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, a unit of Sinopharm subsidiary China National Biotec Group (CNBG), at a vaccination center in Beijing, April 15, 2021. [Photo/Agencies]

Bangladesh will be able to produce 5 million doses of Sinopharm's inactivated COVID-19 vaccines monthly, according to a memorandum of understanding signed virtually from Beijing and Dhaka on Monday.

The Chinese company will cooperate with local company Incepta to bottle and package the vaccines in the Incepta factory to meet people's needs in Bangladesh.

Liu Jingzhen, chairman of Sinopharm, said the COVID-19 vaccine cooperation between China and Bangladesh will contribute significantly to increasing the global COVID-19 inoculation rate and will facilitate the global fight against the disease.

It also reflects trust in the efficacy and safety of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines from the Bangladesh side, and will usher in more cooperation between China and Bangladesh in the life and health sector, he said.

Sinopharm has so far provided more than 13.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Bangladesh through the COVAX facility, charity and government assistance programs and commercial purchases.

Sinopharm has registered its COVID-19 vaccines in nine countries, and has provided the vaccines to 94 countries, regions, and international organizations.

China plans to provide a total of 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the world this year, in the latest effort to honor its commitment to make vaccines a global public good by ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability.