India to send 5 lakh Covid-19 vaccines to Sri Lanka as part of ‘Vaccine Maitri’
The delivery of vaccines made by the Serum Institute of India will fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa during their virtual summit last September for all possible support to minimise the health and economic impacts of the pandemic.
India will on Thursday despatch 500,000 doses of Covishield vaccines to Sri Lanka as grant assistance under its “Vaccine Maitri” initiative, which has already delivered nearly five million doses to seven countries in the neighbourhood.
The delivery of vaccines made by the Serum Institute of India will fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa during their virtual summit last September for all possible support to minimise the health and economic impacts of the pandemic.
When external affairs minister S Jaishankar made his first foreign visit this year to Sri Lanka during January 5-7, Colombo had reiterated its request for urgent delivery of vaccines.
Since the launch of the Vaccine Maitri (Vaccine Friendship) initiative on January 20, India has provided vaccines to Bhutan (150,000 doses), the Maldives (100,000 doses), Bangladesh (two million doses), Nepal (one million doses), Myanmar (1.5 million doses), Seychelles (50,000 doses), and Mauritius (100,000 doses).
Commercial supplies of Covishield have been sent to Brazil, Morocco (two million doses each) and Bangladesh (five million doses), and more supplies are planned for South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
Nepal rolled out its vaccination drive on Wednesday, using the made-in-India vaccines. Officials said some 430,000 frontline health workers, security personnel, senior citizens in care homes and prisoners will be covered in the first phase of the drive.
“This humanitarian gesture amid the pandemic showcases India’s commitment to its Neighbourhood First policy and the SAGAR doctrine, in which Sri Lanka has a prominent position,” a person familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity.
SAGAR or Security and Growth for All in the Region is the doctrine framed by the Indian government for boosting cooperation across the Indo-Pacific.
The Sri Lankan government has finalised its priority list of vulnerable groups, including healthcare workers and armed forces personnel, who will be first to receive the vaccine. Sri Lanka approved the emergency use of Covishield, which is the AstraZeneca vaccine, on January 23.
The delivery of vaccines as grant assistance is in line with India’s role as the first responder in the region and other efforts to help Sri Lanka overcome the impact of the pandemic. Last year, India extended a $400-million currency swap facility to Sri Lanka to ensure financial stability and gifted about 26 tonnes of essential lifesaving medicines and equipment.
India also facilitated the repatriation of several hundred Sri Lankan citizens from Indian cities.