Indonesia-Japan and India Cooperate in COVID-19 Drug Supply

Jakarta, MINA – Japan and India agreed to increase cooperation with Indonesia, including through the procurement of medicines needed to cure patients are infected by coronavirus diseases (COVID-19).

Indonesian Embassy on Tokyo and New Delhi have coordinated with relevant parties in Japan and India to facilitate the realization of cooperation in the procurement of the drugs concerned, both within the framework of G to G and B to B.

Japanese Foreign Minister, Motegi Toshimitsu, on April 7 said the Japanese Government is committed to donating Avigan medicine to a number of priority countries, including Indonesia.

In addition, Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo has also facilitated the formation of cooperation between the drug manufacturer Avigan Fujifilm and Kimia Farma, which has been appointed by the Ministry of SOEs to collaborate on the procurement of Avigan drugs from Japan.

The phase 1 shipments of Avigan drugs from Japan within the G to G and B to B framework are expected to be carried out this April.

To encourage cooperation in drug raw materials with India, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi specifically discussed the support of the Indian Government in a telephone conversation with the Indian Foreign Minister, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

The cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indonesian Representative in India, the POM Agency and the Ministry of SOEs have bridged the procurement of a number of drugs in the B to B framework and ensured delivery can be carried out amid restrictions on the movement of people and goods, namely between:

Dexa Medica (Indonesia) with IPCA Laboratories (India) for Chloroquine Phosphate, IMEDCO (Indonesia) with Srini Pharmaceuticals and Cadilla Healthcare (India) for Hydrochloroquine Sulphate (HCS), Indo Farma (Indonesia) with Mylan Laboratories and Hetero Labs Limited (India) for Oseltamivir, and Kimia Farma (Indonesia) with IPCA Laboratories (India) for Oseltamivir.

At present, the B to B cooperation in the procurement of the drugs is in the process of shipping.

The Foreign Minister appreciates the cooperation and hopes that the partnership that inspires this sense of solidarity and humanity can continue to be improved and developed by many countries as a joint effort to overcome the COVID-19 outbreak. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)