March 21, 2021

Indian High Commissioner: “Government Was Informed Of Vaccine Offer Last Month”

By Newsroom

India’s High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago, Arun Kumar Sahu, says this country was made aware of the offer to be gifted vaccines since February 15th.

His statement is in direct contradiction with Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s recollection during last Thursday’s Conversations With The Prime Minister, in which the PM said there was no confirmation of 500,000 vaccines being available to CARICOM, now was this country was not invited to be part of any free vaccine distribution programme.

“The first I heard about any vaccine from India, I heard about it from local doctors who were spoken to by the Indian High Commissioner, who did not speak to the government of Trinidad and Tobago. The second I heard about it was from Trinidad and Tobago businessmen who were seeking to make arrangements to bring vaccines into the country,” the PM said last Thursday. 

In a two page statement released on Sunday evening, the High Commission said both Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh and Foreign & CARICOM Affairs Minister Dr. Browne wrote to him on February 15th, seeking information after news that Dominica received its vaccination donation days earlier on February 9th. 

The High Commissioner said it was communicated, at this time, that T&T had two options to access the vaccines. 

“T&T government can request the government of India for a donation…for which a request at the highest level to PM Modi might be considered,” the High Commissioner recounted as the first offer. 

The second offer, according to Sunday’s statement, was the offer for T&T to look at the possibility of purchasing vaccines from commercial entity, the Serum Institute of India (SII).

For the latter arrangement, as explained by the High Commissioner, India’s government would have a “minimal” role in the sale however it would commit to granting the necessary export approvals in short time.

In a letter issued a day later, the Health Minister reportedly indicated Trinidad and Tobago’s desire to purchase vaccines. 

There was a hiccup, however, after it was revealed that SII was unavailable for commercial orders at the time. 

The Commissioner said he then informed T&T to explore the initial offer of accessing vaccines even though it was “very late”, but claimed not to have received a letter which he had been told would be sent. 

There has been an ongoing public row between government and India’s High Commissioner over the vaccine donation process. 

Trinidad and Tobago’s failure to access vaccines from India led Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to write to Prime Minister Modi on February 23rd, however nearly one month later there has been no reports of a response. 

The move was largely criticized as undiplomatic but was defended by Persad Bissessar who said desperate times called for desperate measures. 

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