Jeddah
China will supply Saudi Arabia with 9 million coronavirus test kits, 500 specialist technicians and six test laboratories in a $265 million deal signed on Sunday.The agreement between the Kingdom’s National Unified Procurement Company and China’s Beijing Genome Institute will enable the Kingdom to conduct up to 60,000 tests a day, some of them in a unique inflatable mobile laboratory.
Chinese specialists will also train Saudi staff in testing for Covid-19, and assess their competence.
“The large number of tests provided for in this agreement clearly indicates that the Kingdom is in a race against time to diagnose cases and to work to isolate them in a way that reduces the risks from this pandemic,” said Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, chairman of the Saudi negotiating and purchasing committee.. — AN
