India hands over one million doses of Covid vaccines to Myanmar

Foreign Secretary Harshvardhan Shringla began his two-day visit to Myanmar yesterday. Mr. Shringla handed over one million doses of 'Made in India' vaccines to the representatives of the Myanmar Red Cross Society to support the people of Myanmar, including those along the India-Myanmar border, in their fight against COVID-19. This is the first high-level visit to Myanmar since the military takeover in February.

The visit comes just days after a Myanmar court sentenced the deposed State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint to four years in jail on charges of inciting violence against the military and breaking the natural disaster laws of the country. India said that it is disturbed at the verdicts. 

Responding to a query about the proceedings against Aung San Suu Kyi and others, the official spokesperson of the



Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi said that as a neighboring democracy, India has been consistently supportive of the democratic transition in Myanmar. He said that India believes in upholding the rule of law and the democratic process. Any development that undermines these processes and accentuates differences is a matter of deep concern. The spokesperson expressed sincere hope that efforts would be made by all sides to advance the path of dialogue keeping in mind the nation’s future.

The Foreign Secretary's visit will be the first high-level visit since the seizure of power by the Myanmar Military on the 1st of February this year. The visit will present an opportunity to discuss humanitarian support to Myanmar, security and India-Myanmar border concerns, and the political situation in Myanmar.