NEW DELHI: India Friday rejected reports of involvement of any "third party" in its
supply of
coronavirus vaccines to
Paraguay and said the shipment was sent to the South American country following a request from it.
"I would like to confirm that no third party was involved in this,"
external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said while replying to questions on the matter at a media briefing.
A media report had said that Taiwan played a role in India supplying the vaccine doses to Paraguay after China put pressure on the South American country to sever ties with Taipei to get the shots.
Paraguay is a diplomatic ally of Taiwan in
South America. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory.
The report also quoted Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu as saying that his country worked with several democracies to help Paraguay get Covid-19 vaccines.
"As you are aware, India is opening an
Embassy in Paraguay. During a telephonic conversation between the external affairs minister and the foreign minister of Paraguay, a request for vaccines was raised by the Paraguayan side," Bagchi said.
"The external affairs minister responded positively to this request. Subsequently, a shipment of Made in India vaccines was sent to Paraguay. I would like to confirm that no third party was involved in this," he said.