Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (2nd R, back) and Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo (2nd L, back) witness a signing ceremony of vaccine purchase contract during an online meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, March 18, 2021. (Photo: Xinhua)

Serbia on Thursday signed a contract with China's Sinopharm to purchase more of its COVID-19 vaccines, the Serbian president's office informed in a press release.

The contract was signed at an online meeting attended by President Aleksandar Vucic, several members of the government, Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo, and Sinopharm's management.

Serbia has managed to spearhead inoculation efforts with three batches of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.

Vucic reiterated at the meeting that the largest number of citizens in Serbia were vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine and that Serbian experts spoke highly of its quality and safety.

He also thanked the Chinese government as well as Sinopharm for their "help in supplying vaccines at the most difficult moment."

Sinopharm's chairperson Liu Jingzhen thanked Vucic and the Serbian people for trusting the Chinese vaccine.

"Serbia is the first European country to approve the Sinopharm vaccine ... We appreciate the trust of citizens in our product and we are happy that we can provide the necessary support to the people in Serbia in the fight against the virus," Liu said.

Serbia started the vaccination of high-risk groups in mid-December last year and engaged in mass vaccination with the Sinopharm vaccine in mid-January.