The Quad Vaccine Partnership was announced on March 12, 2021

Ahead of the next Quad Leaders Summit slated to take place in Tokyo on May 24, 2022, Cambodia received the inaugural delivery of Covid-19 vaccines under Quad’s Vaccine Partnership on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Indian Ambassador Devyani Khobragade, along with representatives from the Embassies of Australia, Japan, and the US to Cambodia, jointly handed over a consignment of 325,000 doses of Made-in-India Covishield vaccines to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh.

These vaccines have been gifted by India as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to donate 500,000 doses of Covid vaccines to the Indo-Pacific under the Quad vaccine initiative, the MEA said.

The Quad Vaccine Partnership was announced by the Quad leaders at their first Summit on March 12, 2021, aiming to leverage Quad's collective strength to ensure global availability of safe and effective vaccines by expanding manufacturing and assisting countries in the Indo-Pacific with vaccination. As part of the initiative, Quad countries agreed to provide over 1.2 billion doses of Covid vaccines globally.

So far, Quad countries have collectively provided Cambodia with close to five million Covid vaccine doses bilaterally and through Covax. According to the MEA, Quad countries have also committed to provide last-mile delivery assistance to ensure that vaccines are translated into vaccinations.

Australia and Japan have provided cold storage equipment, freezers and temperature monitors along with equipment for safety of health care workers, while the US has provided assistance with surveillance and contact tracing, case investigation, training health care workers and data management, the MEA said.

The Cambodian government has time and again conveyed its appreciation for the vaccines received from Quad through India and for its collective assistance to Cambodia. Additionally, Quad countries have assured Cambodia about their desire to extend all possible support to combat the pandemic.

Together, Quad leaders are taking shared action necessary to expand safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing in 2022, and will work together to strengthen and assist countries in the Indo-Pacific with vaccination, in close coordination with the existing relevant multilateral mechanisms including WHO and COVAX.