Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Malaysia gives nod to Covaxin, may soon allow Indian tourists


Malaysia gives nod to Covaxin, may soon allow Indian tourists

Aradhana Takhtani

09.11.2021

India and Malaysia seem to be set for a bumper tourism trade with both nations reopening borders, easing immigration curbs, and the latter finally announcing its acceptance of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. On Saturday, Malaysia’s health minister Khairy Jamaluddin not only gave India’s Covaxin a thumbs up, but also congratulated India “for successfully producing the homemade vaccine”. Just a week prior to reopening tourist hotspot Langkawi to foreign tourists on November 15, Malaysia’s Covaxin approval is being seen as a significant move.

India, already ahead in its tourism diplomacy, has received two chartered flights full of tourists from Malaysia since the reopening of her borders from October 15. Talking to TOI, Indian high commissioner to Malaysia, B N Reddy, said: “There’s been a 150% increase in tourist visa applications from Malaysians this week compared to mid-October 2021. We anticipate this number to increase based on queries received.” In June 2021, India had announced upto five lakh free visas for international tourists on first-come-first-basis. The Indian high commission has presented a detailed proposal to Malaysia on launching a tourism bubble arrangement between the two nations.

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