Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday said that India was at an advanced stage of developing COVID-19 vaccine adding, ‘friends, partners and neighbours will get priority once it is developed.’
‘For us, Bangladesh is always a priority,’ he told reporters after a meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Masud Bin Momen at a city hotel.
Highlighting India’s strength in producing vaccine, Shringla said he also briefed Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina about what they were doing to fight off COVID-19.
Like India, he said, Bangladesh also has a large population and it needs to take measures to fight against COVID-19.
The Indian foreign secretary said luckily the fatality rate is low and the recovery rate is high in both the countries.
Earlier, Bangladesh said it would explore all avenues to get quick access to COVID-19 vaccine and choose one which will be safer and useful for the country.
‘We will explore all options and will head for that one which will be safer and useful for us,’ foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
Shringla said there had not been much contact during COVID-19 period but the relationship must continue.
‘We must continue and move forward our strong bilateral relationship,’ Shringla said adding that he primarily came to Bangladesh to look at that matter.
Bangladesh is in touch with countries, including China, Russia, the USA and the UK for discussions and cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine.
At the meeting on Wednesday, they discussed ways to further improve the relations between the two countries.
On India’s engagement in developing COVID-19, they updated each other on the issue.
He said there had been some progress on transshipment and railway cooperation fronts, and the two countries would discuss on what more can be done.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla arrived in Dhaka on a two-day visit on Tuesday carrying a message from Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
Shringla is on a visit to Dhaka to discuss and take forward cooperation on matters of mutual interest, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka soon after his arrival.
