The Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Akira Sugiyama says another stock of 727,540 Oxford-AstraZeneca COVIShield vaccine doses donated by the Japanese government will reach Sri Lanka on Saturday.
The vaccine doses are being donated on a personal request by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to the Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga.
The Japanese Ambassador expressed his views when he officially handed over the first stock of AstraZeneca vaccine doses to the President at the Presidential Secretariat this morning.
Akira Sugiyama said the Japanese Prime Minister decided to provide a consignment of 1.456 million doses to Sri Lanka in recognition of President Rajapaksa’s request, considering the need for the second dose.
The President’s Media Division said the first consignment of 728,460 doses arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport onboard SriLankan Airlines flight UL-455 on Saturday.
The Ambassador, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF representatives present at today’s discussion commended the President for his direct involvement in directing the vaccination programme within several hours of receiving the consignment on Saturday.
The President meanwhile expressed his gratitude to the Japanese government for the donation of the AstraZeneca vaccine doses based on a request he made earlier in May.
