From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Saeed Ahmed Al-Malki on Friday assured Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah that the Saudi government would incorporate Chinese-manufactured vaccines in its list of approved shots for visitors to the Kingdom.
The assurance came after Chief Minister Shah, in a meeting with the ambassador at the Chief Minister House, requested the Saudi government to include Chinese vaccines to its list of approved shots “to enable the maximum number of Pakistanis to perform Haj this year”.
During the meeting, Shah said that a majority of Pakistanis were being administered Chinese vaccines in the country, adding that Saudi Arabia was not accepting Chinese vaccines for visitors intending to perform Haj and Umrah, thus “causing disappointment among the people of Pakistan.”
Saudi Arabia is among the few countries that do not recognise vaccination certificates of Chinese vaccines despite the fact that the World Health Organisation has now registered at least two Chinese-manufactured vaccines — Sinopharm and Sinovac.
According to media reports, the vaccines recommended by the Kingdom for use are Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson.
In their meeting, the chief minister urged the Saudi ambassador to review the vaccine order by the KSA, reminding him that the vaccines developed by China had also been approved by the World Health Organisation.
The ambassador assured the chief minister of incorporating the Chinese vaccines to the list approved by the Kingdom.
The visiting delegation also comprised a team of doctors from King Salman Medical Complex.
The ambassador informed that the doctors would set up medical camps in Karachi and Shikarpur to treat poor patients. The medical team will also conduct eye surgeries and open-heart surgeries.
