BELGRADE, SERBIA
Bosnia and Herzegovina received 10,000 more doses of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine from Turkey on Saturday.
Turkey’s second donation of the CoronaVac jab, developed by Chinese firm Sinovac, was received by Selmo Cikotic, Bosnia’s security minister, at the airport in the capital Sarajevo.
Last month, Ankara sent 30,000 doses of the vaccine to Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country of some 3.5 million people where the overall COVID-19 tally is now nearing 200,000, including close to 8,000 fatalities.
There have been protests and unrest in the country in recent days over delays in delivery of the 1.2 million vaccine doses the government has ordered through the COVAX facility, an initiative meant to deliver vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.
Cikotic thanked the Turkish nation and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu for the shipment and said it would be used to vaccinate personnel of security institutions.
“With this batch, we will enable our security forces to do their job better,” the minister said, adding that he requested the donation during his visit to Ankara on April 5.
“On the other hand, we will also strengthen security cooperation between our two countries.”
Sadik Babur Girgin, Turkey’s ambassador to Sarajevo, said Ankara has assisted Bosnia and Herzegovina’s fight against the pandemic since the very beginning.
“We have proven that we are friends and brothers with the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina; not just with words but also through our actions. This support will always continue,” said Girgin.
