India makes Covid-19 vaccine promise in attempt to prevent Bangladesh's drift towards China

India has promised to give priority to Bangladesh when it would start producing and sharing with its other nations the Covid-19 vaccines – a move, which is apparently aimed at stopping one of its friendliest neighbours from drifting towards China.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla wrapped up his two-day visit to Dhaka on Wednesday, promising that New Delhi would ensure access for “all its friends, partners and neighbours” to the Covid-19 vaccine doses when the antidote to the virus would be developed and its mass production would start in India. He also told journalists in Dhaka that Bangladesh had always been a priority for India, indicating that New Delhi would ensure preferential supply of the vaccines to its eastern neighbour.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) already inked a deal with AstraZeneca for production of the ADZ-1222, which has been developed by the Oxford University in collaboration with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant. The ADZ-1222 is one of the front-runners in the race to be acknowledged as an effective vaccine against the Covid-19 pandemic. The SII is likely to conduct the Phase II and Phase III trials on the vaccine in India soon.

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India also has two indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine candidates – the Covaxin by the Bharat Biotech International Limited and the ZyCOV-D by the Zydus Cadila. The Phase II trials are continuing on both the vaccines.

Shringla had a meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Wednesday. Momen later told journalists that he had discussed with Shringla the possibility of conducting trials in Bangladesh on the vaccine candidates being developed in India.

New Delhi’s promise to Dhaka came almost a month after Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) granted “ethical permission” for conducting trials in the country on a potential Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Sinovac Biotech Limited of China.

India took note of China’s move to tie-up with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR-B) for the trial of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government in Dhaka however later stated that it had not yet taken a final decision on the trial of the Covid-19 vaccine and would do so only after assessing the efficacy of the various antidotes being developed around the world.

The Covid-19 already infected over 282,000 people in Bangladesh and killed over 3700 of them so far.

Shringla flew to Dhaka on Tuesday amid growing concerns in New Delhi over China’s bid to spread its tentacles over Bangladesh – not only through trial of Covid-19 vaccines and by promising access to the antidotes developed by the Sinovac Biotech Limited in future, but also by granting trade concessions and by promising soft loans for infrastructure projects as well as for helping the tiny nation recover its the economy from the crisis caused by the pandemic.

He called on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen, apart from holding a meeting with his counterpart Masud Bin Momen just before returning to New Delhi on Wednesday.