COLOMBO - Sri Lanka on Tuesday received the largest COVID-19 vaccine donation from China which arrived here on board two chartered Sri Lankan Airlines flights, the Chinese Embassy to Sri Lanka said in a statement.

China also donated syringes to Sri Lanka's Health Ministry to facilitate the country to administer the jabs.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa extended his sincere appreciation to China for the continuous assistance since the outbreak of the pandemic, and he also invited the Chinese side to assist more in the development of the country's North and East regions, including in agriculture, fisheries, tourism and renewable energy, among others, according to the statement.

This donation will greatly help save more lives in Sri Lanka, strongly support the nationwide vaccination drive and greatly contribute to an early resumption of economic and social normalcy, the statement said.

Congratulating Sri Lanka on leading in the world in vaccination speed, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong praised the convincing scientific research conducted by the University of Sri Jayewardenepura on Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine's high effectiveness against the Delta variant.

Sri Lanka has to date vaccinated over 6 million people with Sinopharm being the leading vaccine.