At the ceremony, the Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul and the Japanese Ambassador to Thailand Nashida Kazuya represented the 2 governments, while the Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha remotely presided over the ceremony via video conference.
The Prime Minister said this vaccine donation reflects close relations and mutual determination between Thailand and Japan to tackle the COVID-19 crisis through vaccination, stressing this donation from the Japanese government will help more people in Thailand having access to the vaccine, in complement to the supplies secured by the Thai government. He said Thailand is ready to move pass this crisis alongside Japan, without deserting one another.
The Japanese ambassador on this occasion delivered a message from the Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga to the Thai Prime Minister, while expressing his respect towards the Thai government’s measures to contain COVID-19 and hoping this vaccine donation will help Thailand’s vaccine rollout runs more smoothly.
The AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the Japanese government was produced in Japan under contract from AstraZeneca. They have been successfully delivered to Thailand in the evening of 9 July, after the signing of donation agreement on 19 June.
The agreement calls for the Thai government to use these donated doses appropriately for the enhancement of the healthcare and medical sectors, while prohibiting the Thai government from using these doses for military reasons, or from delivering these donated vaccines to a third-party organizations or governments without consent from the government of Japan.
