KUALA LUMPUR: Cuba, renowned for its expertise in biotechnology, is offering to share its knowledge – including in the field of vaccine production – with Malaysia, said Cuban Ambassador to Malaysia Ibete Fernandez Hernandez (pix).
The ambassador said both countries could work on producing the pneumococcal vaccine here following the Malaysian government’s announcement to kick-start pneumococcal vaccination for all children next year under Budget 2020.
“This is something that we can explore together. It seems that this can be done. What we need is the political will,“ she told Bernama International News Service, here, Tuesday.
Cuba’s Finlay Institute is the producer of smallpox, typhoid, tetanus, rabies and tuberculosis vaccines.
According to Malaysian experts, the pneumococcal vaccines available in the Malaysian market are Pfizer’s PCV13 and GlaxoSmithKline’s PCV10.
Meanwhile, Hernandez said its bilateral relations with Malaysia has been affected due to economic, commercial and financial blockade by the US.
“Our bilateral trade was not big, but at the moment its almost nil,“ she said.
The ambassador also reiterated the possibility of barter trade between Cuba and Malaysia, albeit admitting that it might be difficult and complex to conduct.
“We still buy goods from Malaysia, for example, palm oil. But to do that, we use a third country. We buy palm oil that Malaysia sells to Europe,“ she said.
The EU is Cuba’s leading trade partner and investor. — Bernama
