New Delhi: The Government of India gifted one million doses of ‘Made in India’ COVID19 vaccines to Nepal today for the immediate requirement of Nepal’s healthcare and front-line workers. The vaccines were supplied on the request of the Government of Nepal. This assistance was also discussed during the recently concluded 6th India-Nepal Joint Commission Meeting co-chaired by the two Foreign Ministers in New Delhi on 15 January.
Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and H.E. Mr. Hridayesh Tripathi, Hon’ble Minister for Health and Population of Government of Nepal received the vaccines on arrival at the airport today forenoon. Ambassador Kwatra expressed the hope that the arrival of the vaccines would mark the beginning of the end of COVID19 and reiterated India’s steadfast commitment to the people of Nepal in their efforts to defeating the virus. Hon’ble Health Minister said the timely gift of Indian vaccines to Nepal was akin to a parallel roll-out in both countries.
In the afternoon, at a ceremony at the Prime Minister’s residence, Ambassador Vinay Kwatra formally handed over the gift of 1 million vaccine doses to Rt. Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr. K. P. Sharma Oli. Ambassador Vinay Kwatra said the vaccines were a gift from the people of India to the people of Nepal and conveyed best wishes for Nepal’s vaccination drive. On the occasion, Prime Minister Oli thanked Prime Minister of India for the generous grant of COVID vaccines to Nepal and said gifts are always a special gesture and the gift of vaccines at the time of crisis adds on to the significance.
Ahead of today’s supply, India had extended human resource training to Nepal for vaccine roll out at the ground level covering, inter alia, administrative and operational aspects of immunization, cold chain, and communication and data management.
The gratis supply of such vaccines to Nepal fulfills the solemn promise made by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity to help all of humanity fight this pandemic. It is also in keeping with India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’.
The supply of the vaccines today is in continuation of regular COVID assistance provided by India to Nepal since the onset of the pandemic, covering hydroxychloroquine medicines, RT-PCR test kits, ICU ventilators, Remdesivir medicines and ambulances.
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