New Delhi: During talks with his Indian counterpart, Maldives foreign minister Abdulla Shahid on Friday, April 16, asked for a supply of 1,00,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, for which the Indian ocean island nation had signed a commercial contract. On the second day of his short working visit, Maldives foreign minister held talks with Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar at the national capital’s Hyderabad House.There was no formal press release from the Indian side, but the Maldivian foreign ministry stated that the two ministers “discussed current situation of COVID-19, and vaccination programmes”.It is learnt that Shahid asked for reassurance that the number of Covishield doses from Serum Institute of India promised in the contract will be delivered. However, no concrete guarantee was received from the Indian side, sources stated.According to official figures, India has sent 65.57 million doses to 90 countries since mid-February. Around 54% were exported on a commercial basis, while 16% was donated by India as a grant. The rest were supplied to various countries through WHO’s COVAX facility.Also read: COVID-19: As Rich Countries Call Dibs on Vaccine Doses, What Are India’s Options?However, India has not sent any supplies abroad for the last four days, amidst concerns about the availability of vaccines after expansion of the domestic vaccination programme.Maldives, just like Nepal and Bangladesh, has been looking at the Indian government to release the contracted amount to maintain the momentum of their COVID-19 vaccination program.So far, Maldives has received 312,000 doses from India, out of which 2 lakh were on grant basis.According to official sources, India did assure Maldives that it will renew the Directorate General of Foreign Trade’s notifications on assured supply of essential commodities as per the bilateral trade agreement. India also re-affirmed its backing to Shahid for his candidacy as President of 76th UN General Assembly. Shahid will be standing for election against Afghanistan’s former national security advisor Zalmai Rassoul.Besides, the two ministers also discussed the status of India’s development projects in Maldives, which now amount to $2 billion. Indian tourists are now at the top of international tourist arrivals in Maldives, mainly due to the bilateral air bubble arrangement.