India gave 1.2 million free doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Bangladesh on Saturday, reports NDTV website. Dhaka also asked New Delhi to maintain a regular supply of shots to battle the pandemic.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the offering at the end of a two-day tour of Bangladesh to celebrate its 50th independence anniversary. The visit also marked PM Modi’s first foreign travel since the outbreak of the pandemic, the site adds.
Bangladesh signed a deal in November with the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine maker, for 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The country of more than 160 million people has already received 9 million vaccine doses from Serum. India has also previously gifted its neighbour 2 million doses of the shot that Serum is producing for many countries.
India has told its international partners that it will prioritise domestic inoculations over exports of vaccines as it battles a rise in new infections.
