Lebanon expects to produce 60 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine and 12 million doses of Sputnik Light vaccine per year and is waiting for the formalities for signing an agreement on their production with Russia, Imad Huballah, head of Lebanon's Ministry of Industry, said at an online conference Thursday.
"The agreement we are signing provides for the production of 60 million doses [of the Sputnik V vaccine]. We hope to produce about 12 million doses of Sputnik Light per year," he pointed out.
"Our Lebanese company, Arwan, has received full support in terms of signing a technical agreement. We are now waiting for certain formalities from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to complete the whole procedure," Huballah stressed.
According to him, 10 percent of the monthly production of the vaccine will be used in Lebanon itself. "That is 6 million doses a year we will use in Lebanon. And all this will take place under the control of the Ministry of Health," Huballah added.
The head of the republic's Ministry of Industry also pointed out that this trade and economic agreement will increase the level of pharmaceutical production in Lebanon.
Accelerated registration
According to Hamad Hassan, head of the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the country faced a shortage of drugs to treat various diseases, including coronavirus, so it was decided to purchase foreign drugs under an accelerated procedure and under an accelerated certification process.
"So this is such a historic opportunity to invest in the field of medicine and pharmaceuticals in Lebanon. And there is an opportunity to register drugs in Lebanon quite quickly. Usually registration takes a few months. But after the decision is made, we can solve this problem in a matter of weeks," Hassan noted.
He also stressed that this decision will encourage Lebanese national pharmaceutical companies to enter into partnerships with foreign companies. "And in this sense, Russian pharmaceutical companies in the private sector can actively participate in investments in this sphere," added the head of the country's Ministry of Health.
Cooperation in industry and energy
Huballah said Beirut hopes to expand cooperation with Moscow in the energy and industrial sectors.
The head of the Lebanese ministry noted that the republic needs "a variety of areas of cooperation" today. "An important area is the energy sector. In particular, we are ready to cooperate both in the sphere of alternative energy and in the sphere of traditional energy," he noted. - "We need the development of our ports and the field of industry in general."
Among the important areas for economic cooperation between the parties, Huballah also named the areas of iron, metal and sugar production. "Lebanon also needs projects in the field of transportation, in particular the production of locomotives, vehicles," he added.
"We hope that the new Lebanese government will start dealing with all these issues. We have started our current dialogue with Russia. And we hope that this dialogue will develop and Russia will probably be interested in a number of projects," summarized the head of the Lebanese Ministry of Industry.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: sputnikvaccine.com
Based on materials of TASS