Morocco starts construction of an anti-Covid vaccine plant
January 28, 2022, 9:06 am

Morocco starts construction of an anti-Covid vaccine plant

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The Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the official news agency MAP said, Morocco on Thursday inaugurated construction of an anti-Covid vaccine manufacturing plant in partnership with Swedish firm Recipharm.

MAP said that the factory to be known as Sensyo Pharmatech will produce vaccines against coronavirus and other diseases, with production expected to reach 116 million units in 2024.

It said that it was launched in Benslimane, a region of Morocco's economic hub Casablanca during a ceremony attended by King Mohammed VI.

The plant will need investments of between 400-500 million euros ($445 million-$557 million).

MAP said that it is aimed at ensuring vaccine "self-sufficiency" for the North African kingdom.

COVID vaccine-Covid-19 vaccination/Pixabay

Its goal is to make, between 2022 and 2025, "active substances for more than 20 vaccines, three of which would be against coronavirus... to cover 70 percent of the kingdom's needs and more than 60 percent of needs across Africa", the agency said.

Morocco is already producing the Chinese anti-Covid Sinopharm vaccine, with more than three million doses being made per month.

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By next month it plans on producing five million doses and more than 20 million by the end of the year.

Home to 36 million inhabitants, Morocco is hoping that its vaccination drive will help eradicate Covid-19. More than 23 million people have already received a second dose against coronavirus, according to the health ministry.

Authorities hope to vaccinate 80 percent of the population with either Sinopharm or Pfizer-BioNTech.

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In July, Recipharm said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Morocco and a consortium of the country's leading banks to build a factory to produce vaccines and biotherapeutics in the kingdom.

As part of the deal, it said in a statement at the time, $500 million would be invested into the project by the Moroccan government and consortium.

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It said: "The investment is primarily to supply the African continent and help it gain vaccine sovereignty and access to future biotherapeutics."

Source: aawsat

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.