MEXICO CITY, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez on Tuesday affirmed their commitment to supplying Latin America with vaccines against the novel coronavirus disease, with both having contracts with international pharmaceutical firms to produce domestically.
In a video call, the two leaders underscored their bilateral agreement to produce the AstraZeneca-Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine, in cooperation with the Mexican Carlos Slim Foundation, for the benefit of Latin America, praising it as a reflection of regional solidarity and integration.
"This is the perfect picture: two fraternal countries, the northernmost in Latin America and the southernmost in Latin America, joined together" to "achieve this goal" of promoting immunity in the region without needing to rely on outside help, Fernandez said in remarks that were broadcast during Lopez Obrador's daily press conference at Mexico City's National Palace.
According to Lopez Obrador, the bilateral initiative "is beginning to bear fruit," with the first batch of vaccines about to be shipped from Mexico to Argentina.
"There are no borders, we are united ... in the same cause: seeking the well-being of our peoples," Lopez Obrador said.
Mexico's Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced at the conference that this weekend Mexico will ship Argentina 800,000 AstraZeneca vaccines packaged domestically. An equal amount will remain in Mexico as per the agreement.
Argentina develops the active substance of the vaccine, and Mexico completes and packages the doses, according to Ebrard. Enditem
