Manama: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has signed a MoU with RDIF and Binnopharm Group to setup a manufacturing facility in Bahrain and distribute the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine across the GCC and MENA region.
The MoU was signed during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held this in Russia.
The agreement signing ceremony was held in the presence of Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The MoU with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, and Binnopharm Group (а subsidiary of Sistema PJSFC, a publicly traded Russian investment company) is step towards the establishment of a new vaccine production facility in the Kingdom of Bahrain to manufacture and distribute the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine across the GCC and MENA region.
In 2014, Mumtalakat signed an agreement with RDIF to strengthen economic and investment cooperation between both the Kingdom of Bahrain and Russia. The Memorandum of Understanding promotes the exchange of information and expertise in the sectors and areas of common interest for both entities. It also sets the overall framework for the identification of and cooperation on mutually beneficial investment prospects investment and co-investment opportunities in Russia and Bahrain. Mumtalakat automatically co-invests with RDIF in all projects with returns on these co-investments exceeding the returns on global indices.
“Our partnership with both RDIF and Binnopharm Group 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. As the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain we continue to look into partnerships and ventures that will add value to our portfolio as well as bring long-term sustainable solutions to the Kingdom and wider region,” Commenting on the signing, HE Khalid Al Rumaihi, CEO of Mumtalakat, said.
“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 organisations. We are delighted to extend our cooperation to establish a production facility in Bahrain to produce Sputnik V – the world’s first registered coronavirus vaccine. Sputnik V has been included in Bahrain’s national portfolio in February and is successfully used to protect the population against COVID. Local production will increase our international production capabilities and help other countries of the region to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Kirill Dimitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Find (RDIF), added.
“Last summer, Binnopharm Group’s pharmaceutical plant in Zelenograd was the first in Russia to launch production of the COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik-V. Over the last year we perfected the technology down to the details and now have a good understanding of how to scale up production of the vaccine. We are happy to share our know-how with other countries to assist them in developing their own production of Sputnik-V at scale,” Dmitry Zubov, Chairman of the Board of Binnopharm Group, further added.
The Sputnik V vaccine is the world’s first registered vaccine against COVID-19 developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, and registered by the Ministry of Health of Russia. The vaccine is produced with RDIF’s backing and the active support of its international manufacturing partners in India, China and South Korea among other countries.
In February 2021, Bahrain authorised the emergency use of Sputnik V vaccine to become the fourth authorised vaccine in the Kingdom.
