Ecuador studies production of Sputnik V vaccine in its territory

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Quito continues to analyze the possibility of production of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V against the coronavirus in Ecuador, said the ambassador in Moscow, Juan Fernando Holguin.

In declarations to this agency, the diplomat recalled that the production of the Russian vaccine in Ecuador was one of the topics of the recent conversation between the presidents of the two countries.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Ecuador

The ambassador pointed out that the issue “is under analysis” and “there is still nothing concrete” in this regard.

“The Sputnik vaccine is authorized in Ecuador, so there is no impediment to produce and distribute it in Ecuador,” he said.

Ecuador approved the Russian vaccine Sputnik V last May 15.

The drug, developed by Moscow’s Nikolai Gamaleya Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology with funding from the Russian Direct Investment Fund, was registered in Russia in August 2020 and is one of the few globally with greater than 90% efficacy against COVID-19.

The two-dose compound is approved in 71 countries with a total population of 4 billion, more than half of the world’s population.

LASSO PLANS TO VISIT RUSSIA

The ambassador also announced that the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, plans to visit Russia in April 2022. “The visit of the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, is being thought to be in April 2022 (…) It is a process that is being prepared,” he said.

Lasso, said the ambassador, will travel at the head of an official delegation that will include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauricio Montalvo, and other cabinet members.

Holguin stressed that President Lasso’s trip is crucial since he has expressed his interest in strengthening relations with the European country from the beginning of his government.

Ecuador, he said, is Russia’s second most important trade partner in Latin America.

The ambassador also said that before President Lasso, the Minister of Production and Foreign Trade, Julio José Prado, could arrive in Russia to sign a trade pact with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), formed by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.

Holguin also said that Ecuadorian business people would come to Russia in 2022 to establish ties. “We are trying to ally the Russian Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Federation of Exporters of Ecuador (Fedexpor),” he said.

The ambassador did not rule out that the president of Fedexpor, Felipe Ribadeneira, would come to Moscow to finalize the agreement between his country and the UEE.