Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum four days ago with representatives of the 25 pharmaceutical companies in 14 countries who are either already producing or are preparing to start local production of Russia’s Sputnik V (and soon Sputnik Lite) vaccines. The Serbian and Argentine Presidents, Aleksander Vucic and Alberto Fernandez, participated virtually, as did many of pharmaceutical manufacturers, some six or seven top Russian officials, and 30 investors from 17 countries who are working with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which has taken the lead in financing Sputnik V production.
Most interesting in the Kremlin transcripts of President Putin’s and RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev’s remarks, was the report on the international network of Sputnik V producers that the RDIF has set up on the instructions of President Putin. The names of the companies which either already produce the Sputnik V vaccine or are going to produce it, were not specified, but the countries where production is located were, and they are spread across the globe: from Saudi Arabia and Iran, to Germany, Italy, Serbia, Belarus and Turkey, the Republic of Korea, India, China, and Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina.
