PM Modi won 'minds and hearts of people' with COVID-19 vaccine delivery: Bangladesh FM

PM Modi, with timely delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, has “won the hearts and minds” of Bangladeshi residents, the country’s foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said on March 26. His remarks came hours after the Indian leader addressed a crowd in Dhaka commemorating the country’s 50th Independence day from Pakistan. Earlier in January, India had supplied over two million doses of Covishield vaccines to Bangladesh under its ‘Vaccine Maitri’ programme. 

“We were worried that we are a densely populated country, so we negotiated with India that if you have developed any vaccine, then please share those with us. PM Modi assured our Prime Minister that if India gets the vaccine then Bangladesh will get them at the same time. He kept his word and with this, he has won the minds and heart of the people," he told ANI in Dhaka. 

Furthermore, Momen revealed that apart from the already supplied jabs, PM Modi had offered 1.2 million additional doses of coronavirus vaccines as a gesture of goodwill to the country which has been accepted. The Bangladeshi leader revealed that the country had also inked a deal with India for 30 million doses of the vaccine. As a part of the contract, Bangladesh will now buy five million shots every month. 

"India did a great job and got lots of points for vaccine diplomacy. There are many pandits abroad who predicted that 5-10 million people will die in Bangladesh due to the spread of COVID-19, so naturally we took all the necessary initiatives. The Indian PM on March 15 called all the leaders of the SAARC countries and came forward to help together because this is a global pandemic. Since it is a global issue, so we have worked together in partnership and collaboration and the Indian prime minister took leadership to join the program. Additionally, our Prime Minister made a call to all the leaders of the world that any vaccine, if developed, should be considered for the public good and be made available for all countries," Momen said.

PM Modi's 2-day visit to Bangladesh 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Bangladesh to be a part of the neighbouring country's 50th Independence Day, making it the first foreign visit by PM Modi after the outbreak of the Coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic. PM Modi received the invitation to be a part of its 50th Independence Day celebrations and to commemorate the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from his counterpart Sheikh Hasina, where heads of state from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives will also be present at the celebration. Incidentally, Bengal goes to the polls on Saturday, amid PM Modi's Bangladesh visit.

(With inputs from ANI) 

Image Credits:  AK Abdul Momen/Twitter/Daniel Schludi/Pixabey/ Narendra Modi/Twitter