India officially hands over Covid-19 vaccines to Nepal

 India today officially handed over the Covid-19 vaccines to Nepal amid a programme organised at Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar.

Indian ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra formally handed over the ‘gifts’ from the Indian government to Nepal to the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. India gifted one million doses of ‘Made in India’ Covid-19 vaccines to Nepal for the immediate requirement of healthcare and front-line workers, according to a press note issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, today.

Envoy Kwatra, on the occasion, said the vaccines were a gift from the people of India to the people of Nepal and conveyed best wishes for Nepal’s vaccination drive. Prime Minister Oli thanked Prime Minister of India for the generous grant of Covid-19 vaccines to Nepal and said gifts are always a special gesture and the gift of vaccines at the time of crisis adds on to the significance.

“The vaccines were supplied on the request of the government,” the press note reads, adding that the assistance was also discussed during the recently concluded 6th India-Nepal Joint Commission Meeting co-chaired by the two foreign ministers in New Delhi on January 15. 

An aircraft of Air India carrying Covid-19 vaccines landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) at 11:30AM local time today. Indian envoy Kwatra and health minister Hridayesh Tripathi received the vaccines on arrival at the airport. Envoy Kwatra, on the occasion, expressed the hope that the arrival of the vaccines would mark the beginning of the end of Covid-19 and reiterated India's steadfast commitment to the people of Nepal in their efforts to defeating the virus. Health Minister Tripathi, on the occasion, said the timely gift of Indian vaccines to Nepal was akin to a parallel roll-out in both countries.

Ahead of today’s supply, India had extended human resource training to Nepal for vaccine roll out at the ground level covering, inter alia, administrative and operational aspects of immunisation, cold chain, and communication and data management, the press note reads, adding that the gratis supply of such vaccines to Nepal fulfills the solemn promise made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity to help all of humanity fight this pandemic. It is also in keeping with India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’. India under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative is providing vaccines, in aid, to its neighbouring countries. As part of its programme, India had sent the Covid-19 vaccines to Bhutan and Maldives yesterday.

The supply of the vaccines today is in continuation of regular Covid-19 assistance provided by India to Nepal since the onset of the pandemic, covering hydroxychloroquine medicines, RT-PCR test kits, ICU ventilators, Remdesivir medicines and ambulances, it adds.