ISLAMABAD: Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal said this week that Pakistan is “very close” to reaching an agreement with Saudi Arabia that would enable Islamabad to manufacture vaccines locally, saying production could begin within the next three years.
An 11-member Saudi delegation, led by the Kingdom’s senior adviser to the minister of industry Nizar Al-Hariri, arrived in Pakistan this week and held talks with health officials on establishing local vaccine manufacturing.
The talks take place amid Pakistan’s broader push to strengthen health security and industrial capacity. The country of more than 240 million currently imports all vaccines used in its national immunization campaigns, relying heavily on international partners to help cover costs.
“We have not yet reached the agreement, but we are reaching toward the agreement,” Kamal told Arab News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
He said Pakistani officials have been in touch with the Saudi government for the past six to seven months on the matter.
