Vaccines arriving at the same price paid by other countries

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Assembly of Sarajevo Canton, at an Emergency Session held today, passed a Decision approving the conclusion of a Procurement Agreement between the limited liability company „HUMAN VACCINE“ represented by its management company RDIF Corporate Center limited liability company (Russian Direct Investment Fund), the Government of Sarajevo Canton, represented by Prime Minister Edin Forto, and the Government of the Federation of BiH, represented by the Director of the Public Health Institute of FBiH.

Thus, the Assembly unanimously approved the Government of Sarajevo Canton to continue the procedure for procuring coronavirus vaccines. This concerns 200,000 doses of Russian Sputnik V vaccines for Sarajevo Canton, which, according to Prime Minister Edin Forto, would mean 100,000 vaccinated people, given that two doses per inhabitant are required.

According to the Agreement, out of a total of 500,000 doses, the Government of Sarajevo Canton will receive 200,000, and the Government of the Federation of BiH will receive 300,000 doses of vaccines. The price of one vaccine will be $9.95, which, as emphasized, is the same price paid by all other countries. The first delivery of 20 to 30 thousand vaccines can be expected in June.

Prime Minister of KS Edin Forto emphasized that this is the result of a constant search and negotiations for several months with the Russian Fund for Foreign Investments, which is directly authorized for the procurement of Sputnik V vaccines.

The risks of this Agreement, as Forto pointed out, could arise in cases of non-fulfillment of the contract by the other party, where the competent court is not in BiH. One of the risks is also the fact that there are no bank guarantees for the advance payment portion by Sarajevo Canton.

The Prime Minister stated that the Government is aware of these risks and stands behind the adopted procurement procedure, because the health of the residents is always the top priority. In such circumstances, some risks must be accepted.