With the aim of becoming a vaccine manufacturing hub in the Caribbean and Latin America (LAC) region, Guyana will be turning to India to capitalise on its vast expertise and resources in this field.
This was revealed by President Dr Irfaan Ali following high-level discussions with Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who is on a historic three-day state visit to Guyana. On Wednesday, the two leaders along with their receptive government delegations held bilateral talks at the State House in Georgetown aimed at enhancing the already strong relations between Guyana and India.
During the engagement, President Ali and Prime Minister Modi recommitted to strengthening the partnership between the two nations especially in the areas of ICT, defence, agriculture, infrastructure, energy, health and ayurveda and wellness, and human resources and capacity building.
Moreover, several bilateral agreements were also signed in the fields of hydrocarbons, health, agriculture and technology. Further collaborations on infrastructure, education, human capital development and defence technology transfer were also discussed – all aimed at further bolstering the bilateral ties of the two nations.
In brief remarks following the bilateral meeting at State House, President Ali explained that while collaborations between the two countries already exist in many of these areas, Indian has agreed on further expand cooperation with Guyana including in the health sector.
On this note, the Guyanese Head of State lauded India as a “giant” in vaccine manufacturing – something which Guyana is looking to tap into as it builds local capacity.
“As you know, we also pursuing having vaccine manufacturing here in Guyana to serve all of the region. India is a giant in this field, and that presents tremendous opportunity for us here in Guyana, and this will be part of the collaboration,” President Ali stated.
As part of efforts to make Guyana a medical hub in this region, President Ali had first disclosed plans back in 2022 to build a vaccine factory here. Earlier this year, the Guyanese Leader reiterated this vision, stating that his government is serious about building local capacity to manufacture of vaccines.
“We are very serious about the establishment of a vaccine manufacturing facility in Guyana, to service the entire LAC [Latin America and the Caribbean] region,” the Head of State had noted during the commissioning of a state-of-the-art telepathology lab at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) back in February.
At the time, the president indicated that Guyana reach been engaging different global partners including the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), and even Cuba on vaccine development and research. Those discussions, Ali had said, signalled his government’s seriousness towards having a vaccine manufacturing plant and a modern health system.
On Wednesday, Guyana’s Health Ministry signed a bilateral agreement with the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) that will see cooperation on laws and regulations related to medical products as well as in the area of medical products. Another MoU was also inked for cooperation with the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission in medicine regulation and promoting the development of affordable generic medicines, strengthen public health capabilities, and align regulatory frameworks for mutual benefit.
In fact, Prime Minister Modi, during his remarks on Wednesday at the State House, highlighted that India is an important source of pharma products for Guyana. He also announced that his government will work on building a Jan Aushadhi Kendra in Guyana.
According to a Government of India portal, Jan Aushadhi is an initiative of Department of Pharmaceuticals to ensure quality medicines and healthcare at affordable cost.
