India on Thursday said the issue of temporarily waiving patents on COVID-19 vaccines is being considered at the WTO, but it is looking forward to partnering with interested countries for transfer of technology and manufacturing of indigenously developed jabs. ready for. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, participating in the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers’ meeting on behalf of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, said that the vaccine is to address inequality and promote the interests of the developing world, of which many are members of the Commonwealth, India, South Along with Africa, TRIPS exemptions have been proposed for vaccine production in developing countries.
Shringla said in his statement, “While this issue is being discussed at the WTO, we look forward to partnering with interested countries for technology transfer and manufacturing of indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccines in India.” are ready.” Under the Quad Framework, India is working with Australia, Japan and the United States to expand vaccine manufacturing capacity in India, to assist countries in the Indo-Pacific region, many of which are small island states and the Commonwealth, he said. members, he said.
“We are looking at collaborations in the important areas of genomic surveillance and clinical trials,” Shringla said. He said that India has taken the initiative to organize customized COVID-19 specific training programs for several countries including Commonwealth member states for capacity building. Health professionals and administrators. “We are also making available COVID-19 mitigation technology, solutions and products, including cost-effective testing kits indigenously developed in India, for supply to the rest of the world,” Shringla said.
“On the domestic front, we are successfully implementing our immunization programme, administering 750 million doses so far with a record-breaking 10 million doses in a single day,” he said. Shringla stressed that for the Commonwealth to be an effective stakeholder in navigating contemporary global challenges, it needs to adopt an approach that is anchored in inclusive, transparent and reformed multilateralism. “The re-imagined post-pandemic world will make demands profoundly different from the Commonwealth, which must evolve accordingly so as to be fit for purpose and capable of instilling confidence in its ability to meet those demands effectively.” Foreign Secretary said.
“We look forward to an early Commonwealth Leaders’ Summit in Kigali. We wish Rwanda all success in this endeavour,” he said. Lord Tariq Ahmed, Minister of State in the United Kingdom’s Office of Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth and Development, hosted Thursday’s meeting. In his remarks, Shringla said more than 18 months into this unprecedented disruption, “we are still grappling with the unknown and the unexpected”. He said the pandemic and its aftermath are the most serious challenges for policy makers in a generation and more, and governance structures, national and international, have been under unprecedented stress and pressure.
Shringla said the events of last year have clearly demonstrated how imperative it is for all countries to coordinate their responses to the various challenges faced by the pandemic. “In this context, the importance of the Commonwealth, being home to 2.4 billion people, and representing 54 countries, includes both advanced economies and developing countries,” he said. Shringla said that India, for its part, has risen to the challenge and in the spirit of global solidarity, has provided COVID-19 related assistance, including pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and vaccines, to more than 150 countries around the world during the last year. Is. “We appreciate the support given to us by many. other countries to fight the second wave of the pandemic in India, with a spirit of solidarity,” he said.
The Foreign Secretary said that India will continue to provide COVID-19 related assistance to countries in its neighborhood and beyond, especially those that have recently seen a surge in coronavirus cases. “I am also happy to announce that at the recently held CoWIN Global Conclave, which was attended by over 140 countries, India has made its indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccination digital platform CoWIN an open source platform. offered to make, which is a global public good available to all countries,” he said. He also said that addressing climate change deserves attention and that, like pandemics, climate change does not respect physical or political boundaries, requiring a globally coordinated response. “I am happy to report that India is not only meeting its Paris Agreement goals, but has also exceeded them with initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, both of which Many bring Commonwealth members under their purview,” he said.
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