Taing Rinith  / Khmer Times Fri, February 19, 2021

Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhonn (R) meets with Indian Ambassador Dr Devyani Uttam Khobragade yesterday. KT/Khem Sovannara 

PHNOM PENH – The Cambodian government has requested to purchase a further 5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from India, in its latest move to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes just after the Indian government having agreed to supply 100,000 doses to Cambodia through the Serum Institute of India on a contract basis.

The request was made yesterday by Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhonn during a phone conversation with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India, according to a statement from Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the conversation, Sokhonn said that Prime Minister Hun Sen has decided to purchase COVID-19 vaccines from India because “the two countries have enjoyed a history of close relations and Cambodian people trust Indian medical care and health services, which are affordable and efficient”.

In response, Jaishankar said he will pass on the request to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and pledged to do his best to assist Cambodia.

India’s vaccination programme, which began on January 16, is so far the biggest in the world, with the goal to vaccinate 300 million people. Since the first day of the campaign, about 8.4 million people have been inoculated with the first dose of either the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine or the domestically produced COVAXIN vaccine. Since January 20, India has supplied coronavirus vaccines to several countries including Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Bahrain, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Seychelles and Sri Lanka.

The AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, produced by the Serum Institute of India, was granted Emergency Use Listing status by the World Health Organization on Monday, after the Ministry of Health approved it for emergency use on February 12.

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SOURCE: Khmer Times, Cambodia Fri, February 19, 2021

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