Thailand has donated 10,000 Covid-19 test kits to Singapore through the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), according to a press release by the Royal Thai Embassy.

Singapore the first Asean country to receive test kits

The test kits had been developed by Siam BioScience Co. Ltd., with Singapore being the first Asean country to receive them.

The donation was made on Tuesday, Nov. 17, by Suriya Chindawongse, the Ambassador of Thailand to Singapore, as a goodwill gesture, the Royal Thai Embassy said.

Donation represents close friendship between Singapore and Thailand

The press release further elaborated that the donation is part of several initiatives by Thailand to address Covid-19 in the region.

Earlier in April 2020, Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha had offered to donate 10,000 test kits to each ASEAN member state.

The press release added that the donation is a "reflection of the close cooperation within ASEAN to overcome this pandemic challenge together".

It is also meant to represent "yet another chapter of the close cooperation and friendship between Singapore and Thailand."

Singapore supports global vaccine initiatives

The donation comes in the wake of the 37th Asean summit, which saw Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong affirm Singapore's belief in "vaccine multilateralism".

The Prime Minister stated that Singapore strongly supports global vaccine initiatives such as the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, whose members include many Asean Member States and their external partners.

As such, Asean should work with them to facilitate the production and distribution of vaccines to meet the needs of the region.

In addition, Singapore will also contribute US$100,000 (S$135,000) to aid in Asean's Covid-19 response.

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Top images from Royal Thai Embassy