At UNGA, Bhutan and Nepal laud India's 'valuable support' in supplying COVID-19 vaccines

New York: Bhutan and Nepal expressed gratitude to India, on Tuesday, for supplying COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic. At the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the two neighbouring countries lauded India for its "heartwarming goodwill" and "valuable support" under the ‘Vaccine Maitri initiative'.

Under Central government's Vaccine Maitri initiative, India provides Covid-19 vaccines to neighbouring

countries enabling them to vaccinate their populations.

Bhutan lauds Vaccine Maitri

In his address at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Bhutan’s Foreign Minister Lyonpo Tandi Dorji said that with the help of India's vaccine supply, the country was able to vaccinate more than 90 per cent of its entire population. India delivered nearly 5.5 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Bhutan.

“Our campaign to vaccinate our population has been recognised as an unlikely success story, and today, more than 90 per cent of our entire population stands fully vaccinated. This, in no small measure, was possible due to the heartwarming goodwill of friends and partners, including India, whose Vaccine Maitri initiative enabled the full first round of vaccinations for our adult population,” Dorji said.

Nepal thanks India

Addressing the UNGA on the last day of the annual high-level General Debate, Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal thanked India and other neighbours for valuable support as 96 per cent of Nepal's target population has received at least one dose. Nearly 95 lakh doses were supplied to Nepal under the Vaccine Maitri initiative.

“In Nepal, we have been able to fully vaccinate 96 per cent of the target population, with almost everyone receiving at least one dose. We thank our immediate neighbours – India and China, our development partners, and the United Nations System for their valuable support,” he said.

Under the Vaccine Maitri initiative, the Indian government has supplied more than 250 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to over 100 countries.