"We would be very keen for investments in Pakistan and if there are possibilities of manufacturing Sputnik V vaccine here, I think, we should be more than happy looking into it," the minister said in response to a Sputnik correspondent's question at a closing session of 9th International Maritime Conference 2021 in Karachi.
"We are very happy at the registration. Russia has done a great job in helping the globe for overcoming the pandemic. I am sure Sputnik vaccine is a step forward in that direction," the minister stressed.
According to the minister, the competition on the vaccine market is a welcome news, as Pakistan has significant needs in terms of vaccination.
"There are other competitors who are also competing -- the more the merrier because there is a huge population in Pakistan that awaits vaccination. The process has just began. we have given preference to our front line workers: doctors and paramedics," the minister stated.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has recently approved the use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
The IMI conference is organized by the National Institute of Maritime Affairs under the aegis of Pakistan Navy and being conducted in tandem with 7th Multinational Maritime Exercise AMAN-21, which are taking place near the Pakistani port of Karachi.
Sputnik V was registered by the Russian Ministry of Health in August 2020. It had been developed by the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology. Sputnik V was created on the basis of a well-studied and proven platform of human adenoviral vectors.
