Pakistan to start local production of Sputnik V vaccine in coming months: FM Qureshi

Pakistan is expected to start the local production of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in the coming months.

This announcement was made by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, during a press briefing with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, after a delegation-level meeting in Islamabad.

Qureshi noted that Pakistan privately imported 50,000 doses of Sputnik V last month, and will import an additional 150,000 doses of the Russian vaccine in the coming weeks.

Furthermore, Lavrov added that Russia has agreed to supply military equipment to Pakistan, and that both sides have decided to expand bilateral defense ties, especially in the domain of counter-terrorism.

Lavrov expressed his satisfaction, citing the more than 46% increase in bilateral trade which reached $790 million over the last year.

Both foreign ministers agreed to strengthen and diversify economic cooperation in the energy, infrastructure, defense, and healthcare sectors.

The Russian Foreign Minister also called on Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad today, where both dignitaries discussed bilateral relations and issues of regional and global importance.