The Japanese government said it will donate medical supplies to Cambodia as part of its global effort to fight the fast-spreading Covid-19 disease, the Japanese Embassy in Phnom Penh said in a press release on Saturday.

Included in the supplies are 9,360 isolation gowns, 480 bottles of alcohol hand sanitiser, 540 pairs of safety goggles and 24,400 pairs of gloves as per the Asia-Europe Foundation’s (Asef) recommended self-defence kit.

Asef is an inter-governmental non-profit organisation established in Singapore in 1996 as a permanent body of the Asia-Europe Meeting.

It seeks to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between nations through a wide range of cultural and social activities.

The embassy said: “This in-kind contribution will be transferred to Cambodia from [an Asef] warehouse in Singapore in coordination with the World Health Organisation [WHO] Western Pacific Regional Office.

“Enhanced international cooperation is indispensable for the prevention of the further spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus [2019-nCoV] infection. Japan would like to strengthen its cooperation with Cambodia,” it said.

The 2019-nCoV is the coronavirus that spreads the Covid-19 disease.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation spokesman Koy Kuong declined to comment on Sunday, referring questions to the Ministry of Health.

Minister of Health Mam Bun Heng could not provide further details, while Ministry of Health spokeswoman Or Vandine could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health’s Department of Planning and Information director Lo Veasnakiri told The Post on Sunday that he had not been briefed on the matter.