Vietnamese and Russian representatives at the handover reception of the first batch of Sputnik V vaccines at Nội Bài International Airport in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hùng

HÀ NỘI — The first batch comprising 739,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V as part of Việt Nam’s procurement order arrived at Nội Bài International Airport in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

The shipment touched down following the visit by Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn to Russia and his meeting with the Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

The reception and handover ceremony was held with the participation of the Russian ambassador in Việt Nam Gennady Bezdetko, Vietnamese deputy health minister Trần Văn Thuấn, and heads of local companies – Chairman of VABIOTECH Đỗ Tuấn Đạt and Vice Director-General of SOVICO Group Đinh Việt Phương.

VABIOTECH, a pharmaceutical company under the management of the health ministry, is RDIF’s Vietnamese partner of technology transfer, packaging, and producing Sputnik V vaccine in Việt Nam as well as the import deal, for a total of 40 million doses until June 2022 in a tripartite agreement between RDIF, SOVICO, and VABIOTECH.

All vaccines produced in Việt Nam would be used in the free immunisation programme against COVID-19.

In his speech, the Russian Ambassador to Việt Nam called the fight against the new coronavirus infection one of the priority areas of cooperation between Moscow and Hà Nội for the foreseeable future.

“I hope that cooperation in this area will serve as a guarantee of further advancement of healthcare cooperation between our countries,” Bezdetko said, noting that Việt Nam is the first Southeast Asian country to establish a production line for the Russian vaccine.

Earlier, Vabiotech announced that the test batch of vaccine it produced has met the approval of the vaccine developer, Gamaleya Research Institute.

The Russian vaccine was approved for emergency use in Việt Nam in March, for the donation of a few thousands of Sputnik V as gift from the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev during his trip to Việt Nam. — VNS