Turkey and Azerbaijan, two member states of the Turkic Council, and observer Hungary announced Thursday that they will donate COVID-19 vaccines to the African countries in need.

Addressing a news conference in Istanbul ahead of the 8th summit of the Turkic Council foreign ministers, Hungary's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto said the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic showed that more vaccines are needed.

"We have seen very clearly that vaccines save lives," he said, adding that Hungary carried out a "successful" vaccination campaign, and has been among the first countries to end the lockdowns in Europe.

"There are enough vaccines in our country at the moment. Therefore, we are in a position to help other countries in need," he stated.

Stressing lack of vaccines in some African countries, Szijjarto said: "Therefore we, as Hungary, together with the member countries of the Council, are ready to help."

Accompanying Szijjarto during the news conference, Turkic Council Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev said a total of 511,000 vaccine doses will be sent to the African countries in need.

The vaccine shipment will include 211,000 doses of Sinopharm from Hungary, 200,000 Sinovac doses from Turkey and 100,000 Sinovac doses from Azerbaijan, he elaborated./agencies