Dhaka to seek smooth supply of vaccines

Dhaka would seek smooth supply of vaccine under the tripartite agreement on buying Covishield from Serum Institute of India when Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen visits Delhi from January 28-30.

Officials in Dhaka and Delhi said tackling the coronavirus pandemic and economic recovery are the most important challenges the world faces today. Therefore, cooperation on vaccine will be a very important part of the foreign secretary's visit to Delhi.

Besides, the foreign office consultations between the foreign secretaries of the two countries will also discuss the preparations on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Dhaka in March.

"Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen would thank the Indian government for the gift of two million doses of vaccines given to Bangladesh. At the same time, he would also seek smooth supply of the vaccines that are due in the future," a Bangladesh diplomat from Delhi told this correspondent.

As per the commitment made by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during PM level summit with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina on December 17 last year, India on January 21 supplied two million doses of vaccines produced by SII.

Under a tripartite deal among the Bangladesh government, Beximco Pharmaceuticals and SII, three crore more vaccines are scheduled to arrive in six months. The first tranche of 50 lakh shots of the purchased vaccine is scheduled to arrive today.

At the vaccine handover ceremony on January 21, Health Minister Zahid Maleque also requested Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram K Doraiswami to ensure that the contract of the vaccine is implemented smoothly.

Bangladesh will begin pilot vaccination of the vaccine on Wednesday, a week before the planned countrywide rollout vaccination campaign.

Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited Dhaka on August 18-19 and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen was then first scheduled to visit India in September and then in December, but could not do it due to the pandemic. The secretary was also infected with Covid-19.

The foreign office consultations will comprise all the issues of bilateral relations, including trade and commerce, deals on water-sharing on Teesta and other common rivers, connectivity projects and border killings, officials said.

"Bangladesh would seek more Indian investments in Bangladesh and remove the non-tariff barriers of exporting Bangladeshi goods to India," a foreign minister official said.

He said though Bangladesh's export to India has exceeded the $1 billion mark, the trade between the two countries is heavily imbalanced against Bangladesh.

Dhaka expects Delhi to expedite the settlement of water-sharing deals. In 2011, Bangladesh and India failed to sign the Teesta water-sharing agreement due to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's last-minute opposition. The issue remains unresolved as of now.

The two countries are now working on water-sharing deals on six other small rivers -- Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti, Dharla and Dudhkumar.

"Besides, the connectivity projects under the Indian Line of Credit also need expedition. We are working on how to speed up the release of money and implementation of the projects," the official added.