The United States and India are discussing the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, according to a report.
Washington:
The United States regularly communicates with India through bilateral and multilateral channels to discuss the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and find out about the timetable for restarting vaccine exports, a senior Biden administration official said.
The global pandemic will be a key issue on September 24, when US President Joe Biden will host the first face-to-face summit of leaders from the “Quad” countries: Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
The visit of Prime Ministers Scott Morrison, Narendra Modi and Yoshihide Suga to the United States will coincide with the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which Biden will address on September 21st.
Quad leaders met virtually in March and agreed to work closely on COVID-19 vaccines, but the initiative stalled after India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, was hit by a catastrophic wave of infections and stopped vaccine exports.
The administration official said Washington was in close contact with India and other Quad partners about the vaccine partnership and “any factor that could affect this project or the global supply of vaccines,” but these discussions were not related to a specific summit or engagement.
The official noted that Washington had diverted its own supply of raw materials for vaccine production to India in April, given its urgent needs, and that global supply of vaccines remained a key obstacle to end the pandemic.
“We congratulate India for being one of the largest manufacturers of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines globally and note that COVAX and the world depend heavily on India’s contributions,” the official said. “It is important that the United States involve all of our allies and partners in these matters so that we can take the necessary actions to end this pandemic together.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)