Malaysia donates 5.5 lakh doses of AZ vaccine

Malaysia has donated 5.5 lakh doses of AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine to Bangladesh as a gesture of friendly relationship between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen received the vaccine from Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md Hashim at a ceremony at the state guest house Padma in the capital on Tuesday.    

Terming Malaysia one of the closest friends of Bangladesh, the foreign minister expressed his gratitude to the Malaysian government for the donation.

Dr Momen said the Bangladesh government has managed the COVID situation successfully and currently the infection rate is under control.

About the vaccination drive, the minister said currently there is no shortage of COVID jabs here while Bangladesh is set to produce COVIOD vaccine locally in collaboration with Sinopharm.

The foreign minister also thanked the Malaysian government for their support for commencing the Rohingya repatriation. “They are our big voice in ASEAN regarding the issue of Rohingya repartition,” he added.

Dr Momen expressed gratitude to the Malaysian government for supporting huge number of Bangladeshi expatriate workers, residing in different parts of Malaysia, during the COVID19 lockdown.