KHARTOUM, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese government on Tuesday expressed gratitude for China's support to its efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

The remarks were made by Siddiq Tawer, a member of Sudan's Sovereign Council and chairman of the Higher Committee for Health Emergencies, when he received the visiting Chinese medical expert team at the Presidential Palace in the capital Khartoum.

"We are very happy with this visit from which we have certainly greatly benefited," said Tawer in a statement.

"The visit was also accompanied by great medical support related to the coronavirus pandemic, including laboratory equipment, protective clothes, and relevant necessary medical supplies," he noted.

Zhou Lin, head of the Chinese medical team, said the team's visit to Sudan is evidence of the strong standing friendly ties between China and Sudan.

"During the past two weeks, we have felt the concern of both the Sudanese government and the Sudanese Federal Ministry of Health to implement the precautionary measures to defeat the coronavirus," Zhou told reporters.

Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Ma Xinmin said that the visit of the Chinese medical team to Sudan "demonstrates the deeper friendship between our two peoples and also the closer cooperation between the two countries as well as the firm commitment to fight the virus."

The Chinese envoy added that, in the next phase, the Chinese side would work to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in the field of public health such as medical capacity building, disease prevention control, medical infrastructure and also medical facilities.

The Chinese team of medical experts arrived in Khartoum on May 28 to support Sudan's efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

China has already provided help to Sudan in its anti-coronavirus fight.

In late March, the Chinese embassy in Sudan donated over 400,000 surgical masks to the Sudanese government. On April 23, Chinese medical experts held a video conference with Sudanese counterparts to share China's experiences in fighting COVID-19.

Sudan has so far reported a total of 6,242 COVID-19 cases, including 372 deaths and 2,059 recoveries. Enditem