MOSCOW, 18 January (BelTA) - The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is prepared to finance the development of COVID-19 vaccine production in the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Nikolai Kushnarev, Director of the Industrial Policy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), said in an interview with BelTA.
“The development of joint vaccine production was also one of the topics of the meeting between Minister for Industry and Agribusiness of the Eurasian Economic Commission Artak Kamalyan and the leadership of the Eurasian Development Bank in December 2020. Representatives of the bank expressed readiness to provide financial support for projects to set up vaccine productions in the EAEU member states,” Nikolai Kushnarev said.
“The EAEU will be able to protect its residents against coronavirus with the help of its own vaccines. "There are good reasons to say so," he said. "Russia has already signed a number of agreements and memorandums on cooperation with Belarus and Kazakhstan to set up joint production facilities. The relevant technologies have been transfered. As you know, Russia has already started producing its own vaccines. It is expected that Belarus will launch the production of the coronavirus vaccine this quarter. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is working with Kazakhstan to establish a new joint venture for vaccine production in Karaganda,"Nikolai Kushnarev informed.
"The Eurasian Economic Commission and the RDIF are actively discussing the engagement of Armenian and Kyrgyzstan pharmaceutical manufacturers in the development of joint production. It is too early to talk about the terms and forms of cooperation - a number of meetings are yet to be held to clarify the details. However, all parties involved understand the importance of this project and addressing all the issues,” he added.
