Vasudaiva Kutumbakam: India to provide 20 lakh vaccine doses to Bangladesh, 10 lakh to Nepal

First Published Jan 21, 2021, 1:39 PM IST

India will send two consignments of Covid vaccine, containing 20 lakh doses and 10 lakh doses to Bangladesh and Nepal, respectively on Thursday as part of its strong commitment to 'Neighbourhood First' Policy. Anish Singh reports

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External Affairs Ministry sources said, "A consignment containing 20 lakh doses of Covishield vaccines will be reaching Dhaka and 1 million to Kathmandu on January 21."

The vaccine delivery is termed as a "gift from the people of India to the people of Bangladesh and Nepal".

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"It is also the fulfilment of the assurance given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina during the recent December 17 Virtual Summit, that India would facilitate the supply of vaccines as and when ready. It is a reflection of the strong, vibrant and friendly bilateral ties between the two countries," the sources said.

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Covid-19 related cooperation

Both countries have been cooperating in the field of Covid-19 vaccine, including Phase-III testing, distribution, co-production and delivery in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh was the first country to receive a joint delegation consisting of officials from Department of Bio Technology as well as vaccine manufacturers, to discuss cooperation relating to Covid vaccine.

Separately, there has been commercial cooperation between Bangladesh public and private sectors and India's private sector on vaccine supply.

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Nepal

Since the onset of the pandemic, India has maintained close coordination with Nepal and provided overall assistance including medical, technical and humanitarian assistance.

Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli exchanged views on jointly combating Covid-19 pandemic at the video-conference of SAARC leaders held on March 15, 2020 and also during their telephone call on April 10, 2020.

Covid-19 related assistance

India has provided over 25 tonnes of essential medicines, equipment and medical supplies to Nepal. This includes supplies of Paracetamol, Hydroxychloroquine, PPEs, diagnostic test kits, ventilators and Remdesivir injections under grant assistance worth $2 million.

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India gifted doses of vaccines to Bhutan and Maldvies. The leaders of both the countries thanked the Prime Minister for his gesture of providing the vaccine at a time when India itself needed it the most.