The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), a sovereign wealth fund of the country, announced on Thursday that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed with Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat Holding Company.
According to the statement issued by the RDIF, the MoU foresees the establishment of a new vaccine production plant in the Kingdom of Bahrain for the joint production of the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. The agreement also includes the distribution of the vaccine that would be mass produced in the Kingdom, across the Middle East and North Africa region, the statement added.
The RDIF also indicated in its statement that the agreement was signed during the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
On the other hand, further information regarding the capacity of the vaccine plant, planned to be built in Bahrain, was not provided by the Russian institution.
Speaking upon the signing of the agreement, Krill Dimitriev, the head of the RDIF, said that “Our collaboration with Mumtalakat goes back a long way and has resulted in a successful co-investment program as well as a fruitful partnership between our organizations.” He also emphasized that the joint production would contribute to increasing the region’s capability to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Speaking on his part, Khalid Al Rumaihi, the CEO of Mumtalakat, pointed out that “Our partnership with RDIF will enable the Kingdom of Bahrain to continue to be at the forefront of fighting this pandemic whilst working to further enhance the region’s healthcare sector through the establishment of this facility.”
Bahrain authorized the emergency use of the Sputnik V vaccine in February 2021.
