At this morning's press conference headed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard reported on the agreements reached with India to produce vaccines and medicines in Mexico, as instructed by the President.
The Foreign Secretary said, “We are mainly working with various institutions in India […] to produce vaccines in Mexico, not only for COVID-19, but also those that the Health Ministry has designated, such as human papilloma and other vaccines." The negotiations will lay the foundations for boosting national production over the next ten years: “This is an agreement that will involve investments and agreements from 2022 to 2032. We are thinking in terms of a decade," he said.
The Secretary noted that medicines “such as insulin, which is almost 100 percent imported (…), immunotherapies, cancer drugs, etc. will also be produced. There will be different types of agreements in the coming weeks, we are making progress on these and on oncology production in Mexico.”
He highlighted "the opening of a consulate in Mumbai (Bombay), which is where the headquarters of most of the institutions I am referring to are located, eight Indian institutions and companies. Birmex, Cofepris and, of course, the Health Ministry are participating," he said.
Lastly, Secretary Ebrard said, "The Foreign Ministry created a working group to assist with the acquisition of medicines by the Health Ministry from 18 nations around the world."
On behalf of the Mexican government, the Foreign Ministry conducts a foreign policy that prioritizes the health of the Mexican people. It reaffirms its commitment to contributing to universal, timely and equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
