JAKARTA - India has approved the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine to Cambodia and plans to supply it to countries in the Pacific Islands and Mongolia. This is part of the vaccine diplomacy that is being campaigned by India.
This step was taken by the Government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as if he did not want to be outdone by China, which also distributed the COVID-19 vaccine. It is known that India has distributed millions of doses of locally made AstraZeneca PLC vaccine to surrounding countries. In fact, the vaccination program in that country has just started.
PM Modi is using India's power as the world's largest maker of vaccines for various diseases to improve regional ties and fight China's political and economic domination.
"New Delhi has agreed to 100,000 doses for Cambodia urgently following a request to Modi from the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen", said the Indian envoy to Phnom Penh.
Cambodia is a key ally of China, which is expected to provide one million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, mainly developed by Chinese government-owned company Sinopharm.
"Supply has been secured through the Serum Institute of India, despite countless competitive demands from partner countries and our commitment to our domestic population", said Ambassador Devyani Khobragade.
India has dosed Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives that it will help deliver a COVID-19 vaccine to frontline medical personnel, as part of the Vaccine Friendship initiative.
Additionally, on Sunday 7 February India shipped 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Afghanistan, the first to arrive in the war-torn country, although it is still awaiting emergency approval from the World Health Organization for its use.
India is known to have invested millions of dollars in Afghanistan over the years in an expansionary effort seen as an attempt to counter the influence of arch-rival Pakistan in the country.
"Vaccines are given on a grant basis", said a government source.
Separately, Indian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Anurag Srivastava said India had supplied 15.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to 17 countries, either through donation schemes or commercial contracts.
"The shipment will be sent to Mongolia, the Caribbean country and the Pacific Island states in the coming weeks. External supplies are still in process, depending on domestic availability and needs", he said.
India itself targets vaccinations for its 300 million citizens to be completed in August. Meanwhile, for the first phase of the vaccination campaign, 3 million people will be prioritized.
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