Myanmar, Mauritius, Seychelles to receive India made Covishield vaccine

A consignment of 50,000 doses of COVISHIELD vaccine is scheduled to reach Seychelles on Friday as part of India’s vaccine donation program. Sources said Seychelles is only among the four Indian Ocean countries to receive Covishield vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, as New Delhi grant assistance.

 

The donation of the vaccines under the VaccineMaitri demonstrates India’s role as a reliable partner of Seychelles and net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region. This is also reflective of India’s special relations with Seychelles and the central place enjoyed by Seychelles in Prime Minister Modi’s vision of SAGAR: “Security and Growth for All in the Region”. Seychelles has around one lakh inhabitants and the 50 thousand doses will thus be able to cover nearly 25 percent of the total Seychelles population.

 

Sources also said a consignment of one lakh doses of COVISHIELD vaccine is slated to arrive in Mauritius on Friday. Mauritius also lies at the heart of India’s vision of ‘SAGAR - Security and Growth for All in the Region’.

 

Mauritius has a population of less than 1.3 million inhabitants. The country is highly dependent on external trade and tourism and hospitality industry which has been severely impacted by the Covid-19



pandemic. 

The request for supply of Indian vaccines has been made from the highest level in the Mauritius Government. The donation of one lakh doses of Covishield vaccines to Mauritius will cover vaccination requirement of a considerable percentage of its frontline medical workers and will play a vital role in complementing its ongoing recovery plans from the effects of the pandemic.

 

A consignment containing 1.5 million doses of COVISHEILD vaccines from India will reach Yangon on Friday. Sources said Myanmar is one of the first countries to receive Indian government's gift of the “Make in India” COVIDSHIELD vaccines, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. 

Myanmar is an important land and maritime neighbour of India with which India shares close historical, civilisational, cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic ties. Myanmar is a vital component of India’s “Neighbourhood First” and “Act East” policies.

 

On 30th April last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counsellor of Myanmar. During the conversation, Prime Minister conveyed India's readiness to provide all possible support to Myanmar for mitigating the health and economic impact of COVID 19.