'Civilisational commitment' says Jaishankar as Cambodia receives India's vaccine shipment

Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar said that Cambodia, on March 2, received 1 lakh doses of Made in India vaccine shots under its Vaccine Maitri Programme. India has stepped up its vaccine diplomacy providing lakhs of vaccine doses to over 25 countries, including those in the Caribbean, Africa and Southeast Asia. “A civilizational commitment”, wrote the lawmaker on Twitter as he shared pictures of the shipment arriving at a Cambodian airport.  

In a statement later, the embassy said that the decision was a testament to India’s appreciation for Cambodia as an important partner as well as it’s concern for Cambodian residents. The vaccines were dispatched in response to a request by the Cambodian PM Hun Sen who asked for Indian made vaccine shots. He had also offered his congratulations to Indian researchers on successfully producing COVID-19 vaccines –Covaxin and Covishield.

According to the latest tally by John Hopkins University, the country of about 16 million has reported 844 COVID-19 cases till now. The Southeast Asian nation launched its coronavirus inoculation drive, on February 3, using 600,000 vaccine doses donated by China, with the sons of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen and government ministers among the first recipients.

Read: Nigeria Receives Consignment Of 'Made In India' Covid-19 Vaccines Under 'Vaccine Maitri'

Read: St Lucia In The Caribbean Islands Receives 25,000 Doses Of Indian-made Covishield Vaccine

India's ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative 

Meanwhile, India has won global praise for its ‘Vaccine Maitri’ programme which aims to aid poor countries amidst the global pandemic. So far, India has exported the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech's indigenous vaccine to more than 15 countries while another 25 countries are queued at different levels to receive supplies. These include Brazil, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Both the vaccines are already in circulation in India with senior citizens receiving the jabs in the second phase of the immunization drive.

Last week, India sent stocks of Covashield vaccines to Ghana. All the vaccines received by Ghana were free of cost as the country received them under WHO’s COVAX programme. Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's donation of 2,00,000 Covishield vaccines to Guatemala on February 26 marked the extension of India's 'Vaccine Maitri Initiative' to the next level.

Read: St Lucia In The Caribbean Islands Receives 25,000 Doses Of Indian-made Covishield Vaccine

Read: Nigeria Receives Consignment Of 'Made In India' Covid-19 Vaccines Under 'Vaccine Maitri'