113 countries accept India's COVID vaccination certificate: Govt in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) A total of 113 countries accept India's Covid vaccination certificate with some of them having explicitly reached agreements for mutual recognition of certificates with India, while others have their own protocols which apply to all inoculated travellers, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

In a written reply to a question in the Upper House, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the government assigns high priority to smooth travel abroad of Indian nationals and noted that quarantine stipulations, as well as entry conditions of other nations, have emerged as obstacles in that regard.

"Recognising the necessity of facilitating travel especially of workers, professionals, students, business people, tourists and those with families abroad has been a focal point of our diplomacy in recent months," he said.

A significant aspect of that pertains to vaccination status and recognition, he added.

As of December 13, 2021, a total of 113 countries accept India’s vaccination certificate, the minister said.

Some of these countries have explicitly reached agreements for mutual recognition of vaccination certificates with India, while others have their own protocols which apply to all vaccinated travellers, including from India, he said.

"At present, there is no multilateral agreement on linking international travel with vaccination status. Wherever nations have not instituted a protocol that facilitates travel by vaccinated Indians, the government has decided to reach bilateral understandings to that end," the minister said.

In this regard, the Union Cabinet had approved on September 29, 2021, pursuing mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates with individual countries, either through exchange of Note Verbales or through signing of Memorandum of Understanding.

Till December 13, 2021, India has entered into agreements on mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificate with 22 countries, he said.

The countries that accept India's vaccination certificate include the US, UAE, Russia, Sri Lanka and Nepal.