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India to give priority to Bangladesh for vaccine

My short visit ‘very satisfactory’: Shringla

Published : Thursday, 20 August, 2020 at 12:00 AM  Count : 280

The visit shows committment of both sides: Masud
Masud briefing newsmen.	PHOTO: OBSERVER

Masud briefing newsmen. PHOTO: OBSERVER

Shringla talking to reporters after talks.	PHOTO: OBSERVER

Shringla talking to reporters after talks. PHOTO: OBSERVER

Indian External Affairs Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Wednesday that New Delhi would make their potential Covid-19 vaccine available for Bangladesh on priority basis once it was produced in partnership with its developer Oxford University, who appeared to be a major forerunner in the global race for developing the inoculation.
Terming his short visit in Bangladesh a "very satisfactory" one, Harsh says "When (Covid) vaccine is developed, friends, partners and neighbours will get it without any saying . . . for us Bangladesh is always a priority." he told newsmen emerging from the meeting with his counterpart at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka yesterday.
He wrapped up his two-day visit on Wednesday holding bilateral meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Covid-19 vaccine issue, border killing, trade hurdles, air travel bubble programme and the fate of around US$ 3 billion dollar LoC package with Bangladesh.
He said India produces 60 per cent of global vaccine, and it has now reached the stage of trying the vaccine with an objective to produce it in a massive scale.
"I had already briefed the vaccine issue to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday and about various measures India took to contain Covid-19 pandemic there," Shringla told the reporters.
Explaining the reason of his visit during Covid period, Shringla said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent him to Dhaka to carry forward the excellent India-Bangladesh relations even during the pandemic situation.
"Reason I came here is that our prime minister felt during Covid time there is not much contact, but the relationship (India-Bangladesh) must continue," Shringla said.
"I have a very satisfactory visit, a very short visit," he told newsmen.
He said "We must continue to move forward towards our strong bilateral relations and I came primarily to look at that point".
During the meeting with his counterpart, Harsh wants to know the progress of Indian LoC projects here and urged to speedy up the implementation of these projects, a meeting source told this correspondent.
Over the vaccine issue the Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said India assured that Bangladesh would be its first priority in providing the prospective vaccine it was developing and his counterpart said India was not developing the vaccine only for them, "Bangladesh will get it at the initial stage (of the production)".
"We (Bangladesh) offered any cooperation      that India may require regarding vaccine trial. . . Bangladesh is ready to cooperate," Bin Momen said adding that Indian side took it "positively".
Bin Momen said Bangladesh also sought Indian cooperation to involve Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals in developing Covid vaccine in collaboration with Indian pharmaceuticals.
"Bangladesh will explore all the avenues to get a quick access to Covid-19 vaccine and choose one which will be safer and useful for Bangladesh," said Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen to the reporters while discussing the issue on Tuesday.
The Foreign Secretary also mentioned about the countries, including China, Russia, America and the UK, for discussions and cooperation. "As part of discussions with others, we'll discuss the issue (vaccine) with India. We should have all options and we'll head for that one which'll be safer and useful for us," he told reporters.
"We have been discussing with everyone about availability of probable Covid-19 vaccines � so we also discuss it (regarding access to vaccine) with the Indian side as well," Masud Bin Momen said.
"The visit showed the commitment of both sides (India-Bangladesh) to take the relationship more forward", Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Das Ganguly told a select media group last night.
Shringla, who served as Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh before, visited Dhaka in March last after assuming office of the Indian Foreign Secretary in January this year.
According to officials this is Shringla's first overseas tour since the outbreak of the Covid-19 global pandemic.
Diplomatic sources say, the visit meant to warm up relations with Bangladesh amid New Delhi's concerns that China is expanding its footprints in Bangladesh. Indian civil society and experts have highlighted the need for India to improve ties with neighbors' including Bangladesh and Nepal at a time when it is engaged in a border standoff with China.
As part of it, Indian External Affairs arranged a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli on August 15, on August 17 (Monday) India and Nepal held a virtual meeting on to discuss projects financed by India in Nepal, the first such discussion since PM KP Sharma Oli's decision to change Nepal's political map to include certain Indian territories soured relations. However, Indian External Affairs's Secretary's Bangladesh visit is the second part of it, diplomats observed.














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