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Sri Lanka formally requests Indian assistance to obtain Covid vaccine
06 Jan, 2021
Sri Lanka has formally requested Indian assistance to obtain the Covid vaccine.
Visiting Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that the request was conveyed to him during his meetings in Colombo today.
He said that he will be taking the request back to India to be submitted to the Indian leadership.
“We are now looking at post-Covid cooperation and i carry back with me Sri Lanka’s interest in accessing vaccines from India,” he said.
Speaking at a joint media briefing with Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, the Indian External Affairs Minister said that India sees international cooperation in the (Indian Ocean) region as its duty.
He said that the coronavirus pandemic has not dented the bilateral relationship between both countries.
Jaishankar said that both countries continued to maintain high-level contacts last year.
The visiting Indian External Affairs Minister also spoke on the need to ensure Tamil aspirations are addressed within a united Sri Lanka.
He also emphasised on the importance of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar told President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at a separate meeting that India is ready to give priority to Sri Lanka when supplying to other countries the vaccine now being produced by India to treat the COVID-19 virus.
Commenting on the future course of action to control the COVID-19 pandemic during the ensuing discussion, the President stated that Sri Lanka would like to obtain the COVID vaccine, which is being produced by India, following an accurate assessment of the need for the treatment.
Dr. Jaishankar agreed to give priority to Sri Lanka when his country begins exporting the vaccine to other countries. (Colombo Gazette)
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