The signing ceremony of the agreement to produce Sinopharm vaccine in Myanmar was held at the Lotte Hotel in Yangon on December 22.
The signing ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Central Committee for Supervision of COVID-19 Vaccine and Union Minister for Industry Dr Charlie Than, Union Minister for Health Dr Thet Khaing Win, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Hla Soe and officials and the Chinese Ambassador were present.
Union Minister Dr Charlie Than said that a new milestone has been signed between Ministry of Industry and Sinopharm China National Bio-tech Group from China. He thanked for the support since the start of talks on the production of Chinese-made Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Myanmar in July 2021 until the signing of the agreement to purchase Ready to fill Bulk. At present, COVID-19 is spreading around the world, so vaccination is the most effective way to prevent the spread of the disease.
In 2021, Myanmar purchased 26 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine and is now providing it. According to the Ministry of Health, Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to have fewer side effects and is more effective, so efforts were made to purchase COVID-19 vaccine from Sinopharm CNBG as a ready to fill bulk, according to Union Minister Dr Charlie Than.
The acquisition of RTF bulk to produce ten million doses of COVID-19 vaccine is a new step in cooperation between Myanmar and China. It is believed that more cooperation will be made in the future with the production of biochemical drugs such as vaccines, and this is the first day that we have started to produce locally COVID-19 vaccine in our country. He said he hoped to work with Sinopharm CNBG to develop not only important vaccines for Myanmar's healthcare sector, but also other drugs.
The Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Myanmar said that the first phase of cooperation between Myanmar and China is to develop COVID-19 vaccine in Myanmar. China distributes COVID-19 vaccine to 120 countries and is conducting research to develop treatment for COVID-19. At the time of the third COVID-19 outbreak in Myanmar, China was the largest supplier of COVID-19 vaccine. Most of the COVID-19 vaccines injected in Myanmar are from China, and the signing of the RTF Bulk Agreement will greatly help to control the COVID-19 disease in Myanmar. He said China is working to enhance good-neighborly relations.
Mr. Jingzhen Liu, Chairman of Sinopharm Group, said Sinopharm CNBG specializes in pharmaceutical and drug manufacturing in China. It is engaged in the medical and industrial industries and is the second largest producer of pharmaceuticals in Asia. The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved emergency use of the company's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. The company will continue to cooperate in the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Myanmar, he said via virtual system.
