Chinese envoy wants 30,000 out of doses gifted to Bangladesh

Chinese Embassy in Dhaka wants around 30,000 out of five lakh gifted doses of Sinopharm vaccines for the Chinese nationals living in Bangladesh.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming wrote to Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque to allocate the doses for them on May 11, a day before the delivery of 5 lakh doses of Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine as a gift to Bangladesh to help it cope with a shortage of vaccines.

Li Jiming formally handed over the vaccines in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Although facing difficulties of huge domestic demand and a tight supply of the international market, China gave priority to ensuring that the vaccine doses reach Bangladesh as soon as possible, and has now successfully made it a special gift of Eid Festival to the government and people of Bangladesh, which demonstrates the profound traditional friendship between the two countries.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, China and Bangladesh have been supporting and assisting each other to fight together against the pandemic.

China has donated and is donating vaccine doses to 80 developing countries with urgent needs, and has provided support under COVAX for the emergency use of vaccines in developing countries.

China has fulfilled its solemn commitment to make the Covid-19 vaccine a global public good with practical actions, promoted the fair distribution of global vaccines and made China’s contribution to the realisation of vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.

China will continue to make joint efforts with Bangladesh to make positive contributions to Bangladesh’s endeavour of protecting human lives and fight to win the battle against the pandemic, and together to build an even closer community of shared future and health for mankind.