President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s special address to the nation

June 26, 2021

The Most Venerable Maha Sangha, religious leaders of other faiths, Sri Lankan Brothers and Sisters, Friends and Dear Children,

Covid-19 global pandemic is the most serious challenge at this juncture not only for our country but also for each and every country irrespective of their development status. About 180 million people worldwide have contracted the virus while nearly 3.9 million people have died from it so far.

The developed countries, which initially suffered severely from coronavirus, have largely contained the risk of virus spread today since the majority of the population has been vaccinated. Although some vaccine-producing countries have easy access to the vaccine, there are others that have so far failed to secure any vaccine to their people.

I took special efforts in the recent past to bring down vaccines to Sri Lanka. I personally spoke to the Heads of State in countries like China and India. I also made requests by letters. I personally wrote letters to the Heads of State of Russia and other countries. We held discussions with vaccine-producing countries through our Foreign Ministry and through the Ambassadors and High Commissioners. Our officials coordinated with vaccine manufacturing companies.

All these efforts were made because I wanted to vaccinate all the people in our country.
President’s Speech – English (1)