KATHMANDU – India is planning to provide Nepal Covid-19 vaccines for free. According to Indian media, the Indian government is considering giving Nepal Covishield vaccines manufactured by Serum India Institute.
While the Indian government has not decided the quantity to be provided, Nepal will receive free doses of Covishield from its southern neighbor. Earlier on Friday, Nepal’s medicine regulatory authority Department of Drug Administration had decided to grant emergency use authorization of Covishield vaccine against Covid-19 in Nepal.
India has already announced that it was providing Bangladesh 2 million doses of vaccines as a gift. Getting Covid-19 vaccine was also an important agenda of discussion with Indian side during last week’s three-day visit of Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali to India.
“On Nepal’s request for the Government of India’s support in availing Covid-19 vaccines, the Indian side assured that the requirements of Nepal would be in priority consideration after the roll-out of vaccines,” read the statement issued by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the sixth meeting of the India-Nepal Joint Commission on January 15.
However, India had not confirmed its assurance in its statement issued separately after the joint commission meeting. “Nepal congratulated India on the remarkable success in production of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines in India and requested for early provision of vaccines to Nepal,” read the statement of India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
