Bangladesh’s Ambassador in South Korea Abida Islam has raised the national bi-colour at International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in Seoul following Dhaka’s accession to the nonprofit international organisation on Thursday.
Discovering, developing and delivering safe, effective and affordable vaccines for global public health is the mission of the organisation which was established at the initiative of the UN.
Bangladesh is a founding signatory to IVI’s Establishment Agreement, the 1996 UN treaty. But Dhaka ratified the Agreement on 21 March 2021 and the United Nations issued notification of the depository on 5 April 2021 amid pandemic.
The Agreement entered into force for Bangladesh on 1 May 2021.
Following that, the accession ceremony took place in which representatives from the government of Bangladesh, members of the diplomatic community in Seoul, and representatives of the IVI member states joined online and offline.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque and state minister for foreign affairs Md. Shahriar Alam sent out congratulatory video messages.
Zahid Maleque put forward the collaborative efforts between Bangladesh and the IVI in Bangladesh in improving the disease surveillance of Bangladesh from diseases such as cholera, shigella, and antimicrobial resistance.
He also expressed hope that through this cooperation, Bangladesh will be able to control virus borne communicable diseases and to produce vaccines domestically to the global market, the foreign ministry said.
State Minister Alam expressed thanks and gratitude to the IVI for supporting and facilitating the accession process of Bangladesh to the IVI and for providing assistance to Bangladesh through vaccine research and development, vaccine technology transfer, research, and capacity-building collaboration.
He expressed hope that Bangladesh’s new role as a state party in the IVI would further expand and consolidate cooperation between Bangladesh and IVI in the days ahead.
Ambassador Abida Islam in her remark said that the accession of Bangladesh to the IVI is indeed a remarkable event that envisions a future free of vaccine-preventable death and illness.
She also expressed hope that this membership will pave the way for enhanced research, clinical development, and manufacturing of affordable vaccines in Bangladesh and will assist Bangladesh to contribute to the greater good of humankind, globally.
Chang Wook-jin, Director General of International Organizations Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea, welcomed Bangladesh for joining IVI and conveyed the Korean government’s unwavering support and tremendous efforts for the development and visibility of the IVI in the various bilateral and multilateral occasions.
He expressed hope that the Republic of Korea in collaboration with Bangladesh would be able to create positive synergies together in the mutual support for more effective and constructive efforts of IVI in advancing global health cooperation.
Director-General of IVI Dr. Jerome Kim, Managing Director of Incepta Vaccine Ltd Abdul Muktadir, and ICDDR,B Executive Director Dr. Tahmeed Ahmed joined the event virtually.
