Sri Lanka expresses interest in accessing COVID-19-vaccines from India

COLOMBO - India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who is on a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka, said on Wednesday that Sri Lanka had expressed interest in accessing COVID-19-vaccines from India. In discussion with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Jaishankar said his country had agreed to give priority to Sri Lanka when it starting exporting the vaccines to other countries. During their meeting, both President Rajapaksa

and the Indian minister agreed to further enhance bilateral relations. Following his discussion with the president, Jaishankar met with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena during which both agreed that despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, high level contacts between the two countries were maintained and indeed strengthened during the past year. (Xinhua)