New Delhi, Apr 12 (IANS): The inaugural delivery of Covid vaccines under the Quad's flagship Vaccine Partnership was made in Cambodia on Tuesday.

Indian Ambassador Devyani Khobragade, along with representatives from the Embassies of Australia, Japan and US to Cambodia, jointly handed over a consignment of 325,000 doses of made in India Covishield vaccines to Prime Minister, Hun Sen, at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh.

The vaccines have been gifted by India as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to donate 500,000 doses of Covid vaccines to the Indo-Pacific under the Quad vaccine initiative.

The Quad Vaccine Partnership was announced by the Quad Leaders at their first Summit on March 12, 2021, aiming to leverage Quad's collective strength to ensure global availability of safe and effective vaccines by expanding manufacturing and assisting countries in the Indo-Pacific with vaccination. Quad countries agreed to provide over 1.2 billion doses of Covid vaccines globally under this initiative.

Quad countries have collectively so far provided Cambodia with close to five million Covid vaccine doses bilaterally and through Covax. Australia and Japan have provided cold storage equipment, freezers and temperature monitors along with equipment for safety of health care workers.

The Cambodian government has conveyed its appreciation for the vaccines received from Quad through India and for its collective assistance to Cambodia.