Palace: PH stands ready to work with Russia in Covid-19 fight
The Palace issued the statement after President Rodrigo Duterte accepted Russia’s offer of its Covid-19 vaccine and even offered himself as a test subject to show his gratitude to Russia and to see if this was safe or not.
“The Philippines appreciates Russia’s offer of cooperation to jointly combat the Covid-19 pandemic,” Malacañang said in a statement.
“The Philippines stands ready to work with Russia on clinical trials, vaccine supply and production, and other areas deemed practicable by relevant Philippine and Russian agencies to address this global health emergency,” it added.
The Palace noted that like similar bilateral and multilateral arrangements, all cooperation initiatives “will be consistent with protocols for testing and health standards” set by the government.
“International cooperation is key to effectively combat this global pandemic,” the Palace said.
“Consistent with the President’s independent foreign policy, we continue to work with partners across the world to ensure access to safe vaccine,” it added.
On Friday, Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev said the country has developed an “effective and safe” vaccine created by the Gameleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology.
Khovaev had said that proposals for the clinical trials and the production of the vaccine in the Philippines were already with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
In his Monday public address, Duterte said he was “very happy” with Russia’s gesture toward the Philippines, saying this proved that the two countries were very good friends.
Source: TheManila Times
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