India proposes its vaccine trial in Bangladesh
Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Tuesday proposed the third clinical phase trial of a vaccine being developed in his country in Bangladesh saying New Delhi was looking forward for cooperation from Dhaka.
“We are ready to get started on Phase-III clinical trials of the vaccine in Bangladesh after we launch these trials in India,” read the transcript of remarks Jaishankar manufactured in his welcome remark at the 6th Bangladesh-India JCC meeting in a virtual platform with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr A K Abdul Momen.
Indian High Commission in Dhaka offered BSS the abridged transcript while a senior Indian diplomat located in Bangladesh said Dhaka “agreed in principle” to the proposal.
The Indian external affairs minister also said commune vaccine trails would help strengthen cooperation among the regulators and simplify process for future distribution and joint production of vaccines.
“Bangladesh will be accorded high priority in all these efforts,” he said adding that collaboration to create Covid-19 vaccines will be highly important, said the Indian Minister.
Emerging from the talks Bangladesh foreign minister Dr Momen earlier, however, said “we will accumulate the vaccine from where we are able to get it first”.
He said Dhaka has recently communicated with all possible countries including China Russia Britain and EU to gain access to the potential Covid 19 vaccine as soon as it is ready to use to body.
Momen said the meeting discussed about cooperation on usage of potential COVID 19 vaccine while India side assured that Bangladesh would get priority in obtaining any potential vaccine which it could develop.
A Bangladesh foreign office statement elaborated the idea saying both sides discussed collaboration in medical sector “especially in terms of supply, delivery, distribution and co-production of COVID-19 vaccine”.
“Hon’ble Foreign Minister of Bangladesh appreciated India’s assurance on prioritizing Bangladesh for supply of the potential vaccine in the future,” it read.
This is the sixth JCC meeting led by both foreign ministers but first on the virtual media in view of the COVID-19 pandemic while the vaccine issue were a major issue of their talks.
