Nepal’s Foreign Minister, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, has asked India to expedite the delivery of vaccines to Nepal.
Last month, India was expected to deliver approximately one million doses of Serum Institute’s Covishield vaccines to Nepal. However, a significant increase in Covid-19 cases in India has hampered vaccine diplomacy and supply to other countries.
Foreign affairs minister Kumar from Nepal Kumar with his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, and asked him to facilitate the supply of Covid-19 vaccines to Nepal.
The two leaders discussed expanding cooperation to combat the coronavirus pandemic over the phone, according to the Foreign Ministry in Kathmandu. During the conversation, the two parties discussed how to step up efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Foreign Minister Gyawali expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Government of India for its assistance in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, including the generous donation of one million doses of Covishield, according to a statement.
Gyawali asked Jaishankar to make the necessary arrangements for the supply of vaccines to Nepal so that the second dose could continue to be administered to those at greatest risk.
“The External Affairs Minister of India assured him of India’s continued support to Nepal in its fight against the pandemic, including the supply of vaccines,” according to the statement.
Covishield by Oxford-AstraZeneca is manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), which has collaborated with Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to develop the vaccine.
In order to halt the spread of the coronavirus, Nepal’s Health Ministry has recommended restricting any gathering of more than 25 people at a time.
The ministry has also suggested that physical education classes in schools and colleges be discontinued.
Nepal detected 332 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the national total to 279,100.