MOSCOW: Egypt has approved Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, becoming the 34th country outside of Russia and third in North Africa to do so, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement on Wednesday.

RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, said Sputnik V had been approved by the Egyptian Drug Authority using an emergency use authorisation procedure. Tunisia and Algeria have already approved the shot.