By Sumi Khan
Dhaka, Apr 23 (IANS): Amid the global crisis of vaccine, India will cooperate Bangladesh to continue its current vaccination drive by trying its best to supply Covid-19 vaccines, said Indian envoy in Dhaka Vikram Doraiswami.
The Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka said this at Akhaura Land Port in Brahmanbaria of Bangladesh on Thursday morning while returning from India by road after a five-day vacation. He left for India through the Akhaura land port on April 18.
Talking about India-Bangladesh relations, Doraiswami said the two countries have very special relationship and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh braving the second wave of Coronavirus.
The Indian High Commissioner also mentioned that India has provided vaccine to several countries and Bangladesh is the highest recipients among all the countries.
"We have said we would do our best to meet everyone's needs, subject to limits of production, domestic demands, and other obligations. We will continue to do our best to support the vaccine rollout in our neighbourhood countries, but it is important to bear in mind that there is a huge wave of the pandemic underway in India."
Doraiswami also said that there is limitation in the agreement signed between the original owners of the vaccine and manufacturing countries, including India. Now both, the owners of the vaccine formula and manufacturing countries, are working together to enhance production and supply of vaccine.
"We can assure Bangladesh that we will do our best to ensure that within the limit of physical production we will share whatever we can," Doraiswami said.
Bangladesh has received more than 10.3 million vaccine doses, including 3.3 million as gift while rest as part of a commercial deal with the Serum Institute of India (SII), from India.
Beximco Pharma of Bangladesh signed a deal on November 5, 2020 with the SII to buy 30 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by British drug company AstraZeneca. As per the deal, India will supply five million doses of vaccine per month.