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India’s historic 100 crore Covid-19 vaccination landmark is being lauded globally with wishes pouring in from World Health Organisation (WHO) and neighbouring countries including Sri Lanka and Bhutan on Thursday.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Twitter congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, scientists, health workers and people of India on their "efforts to protect the vulnerable populations from COVID-19 and achieve vaccine equity targets".
Bhutan's Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering said the feat is a "huge accomplishment" not just for India, but the world.
"On behalf of the people of Bhutan, I congratulate India!" he tweeted.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) thanked Tshering for his wishes and his appreciation for the Vaccine Maitri initiative.
Vaccine Maitri is a humanitarian initiative undertaken by the Indian government to provide COVID-19 vaccines to countries around the world.
The government started providing vaccines from January 20. India has so far delivered around 66.3 million doses of vaccines to 95 countries, including Canada, the UK, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Nepal, South Africa, Ukraine and Bahrain.
Bhutanese foreign minister Tandi Dorji also congratulated India for administering one billion COVID-19 vaccinations. "A historic milestone!" he tweeted.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa congratulated PM Modi, the medical community and frontliners of India "for achieving this mammoth task".
"The way forward & adjusting to the new normal while staying safe is highly dependent on a successful vaccination drive. Congratulations on reaching this milestone," he tweeted.
In its response, the MEA said the guidance and support of the Lankan prime minister have been instrumental in driving India-Lanka relations forward.
"We hope mass vaccination drives in the 2 countries will promote travel & interactions in both directions & enhance people 2 people ties that form the bedrock of India-Lanka relations," it tweeted.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is in Israel on a five-day visit to the country, applauded the selfless hard work and dedication of doctors and health workers.(With PTI inputs)
