A shipment of 50,000 doses of COVISHIELD vaccine is programmed to reach Seychelles on Friday as part of India’s vaccine donation program. Sources said Seychelles is only among the four Indian Ocean countries to get Covishield vaccine, produced by the Serum Institute of India, as New Delhi grant assistance.

The contribution of the vaccines under the VaccineMaitri confirms India’s role as a strong partner of Seychelles and net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region. This is also contemplative of India’s special connections with Seychelles and the central area enjoyed by Seychelles in Prime Minister Modi’s vision of SAGAR: “Security and Growth for All in the Region”. Seychelles has around one lakh residents and the 50 thousand doses will thus be ready to cover nearly 25 percent of the total Seychelles population. Sources also said a consignment of one lakh doses of COVISHIELD vaccine is slated to land in Mauritius on Friday. Mauritius also lies at the heart of India’s vision of ‘SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region’. Mauritius has a population of fewer than 1.3 million residents. The country is very reliant on external trade and tourism and hospitality industry which has been critically impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The demand for the supply of Indian vaccines has been made from the highest level in the Mauritius Government.

A consignment including 1.5 million doses of COVISHEILD vaccines from India will reach Yangon on Friday. Sources said Myanmar is one of the first countries to sustain the Indian government’s gift of the “Make in India” COVIDSHIELD vaccines, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. Myanmar is an important area and marine neighbor of India. On 30th April last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counsellor of Myanmar. During the conversation, Prime Minister conveyed India’s readiness to provide all possible support to Myanmar for mitigating the health and economic impact of COVID 19.