By Bennie Mundando
THE Russian Government has praised the efforts of the Zambian Government in combating the spread of COVID-19 and its contribution to the normalization of the global health situation.
On Monday, Russia’s Ambassador to Zambia, Alexander Boldyrev, handed over Russian relief consignment to Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya, worthy thousands of Kwacha for combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cargo, consisted of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test kits enough for the conduction of 5000 individual tests, which was delivered by the EMERCOM aircraft to Zimbabwe and from there was transported by the Russian Embassy to Zambia.
PCR is a technique in molecular genetics that permits the analysis of any short sequence of DNA even in samples containing only minute quantities.
In his speech, Mr. Boldyrev said following the inaugural Russia-Africa Summit and landmark visitation to Zambia by chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia, Valentina Matvienko in February this year, there has been the revitalization and intensification of the bipartite ties and interstate links.
He said the donation is a vivid sign of the strong bilateral relations between the two countries, built on the solid basis of mutual respect and with due regards to the national interests of each other.
And Dr. Chilufya expressed deep gratitude to the Russian authorities and the people of that country for the valuable and timely support.
He noted the strong nature of the Russian-Zambian relations, demonstrated in the said act of solidarity.
