G20 Summit: India can produce five billion COVID-19 vaccines by 2022-end, says Narendra Modi

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Speaking at the Group of 20 Leaders’ Summit in Rome, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India can produce more than five billion COVID-19 vaccines by end of next year, as he highlighted country's contributions to fighting the deadly disease.

Briefing reporters on Modi's engagements in Rome, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the prime minister also stressed on the need for facilitating international travel and spoke about having a mechanism of mutual recognition of vaccine certification as a means for this.

"The prime minister spoke for the resilient global supply chains and mentioned India's bold economic reforms and lowering of the cost of doing business in India," Shringla said.

"Modi also informed the G20 leaders about India's medical diplomacy that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and covered at least 150 countries," he added.

"India has not only vaccinated over a billion persons, we will be able to produce more than five billion vaccine doses that will reduce vaccine inequity in the developing world," said Shringla explaining that the certification of India's Covaxin is "'pending" with the WHO and that the emergency use authorisation of WHO will help India meet this goal.

A technical advisory group of the UN health agency will meet on 3 November to conduct a final risk-benefit assessment for Emergency Use Listing of Covaxin. Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in India.

India provided COVID-19 supplies to 150 countries

Modi also highlighted India's medical supply to over 150 countries and contribution in maintaining the global supply chain during the pandemic.

He made these remarks during his intervention at the "global economy and global health" session at the G20 meet, Shringla said.Stressing on the need for resilient global supply chains, prime minister Modi spoke about India's bold economic reforms and invited G20 nations to make India their partner in economic recovery and supply chain diversification.

Modi also spoke about "One Earth, One Health" vision in the context of fighting the pandemic and future global health issues, Shringla added.

G20 summit got underway in Rome

On the sidelines of the G20 summit, Modi held bilateral talks with world leaders, including US President Joe Biden.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday interacted with world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, exchanging pleasantries and showcasing a spirit of camaraderie.

Modi and Macron had "productive discussions" on the strategic bilateral ties and on a range of issues of mutual and global interests.

He also had a "fruitful meeting" with his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, the PMO tweeted.

PM meets Pope Francis at Vatican

Earlier today, the prime minister met Pope Francis at the Vatican and extended an invitation to visit India. He was accompanied by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval. Shringla said the Pope has accepted the invitation.

According to the Vatican News, the prime minister gifted the head of the Roman Catholic church a specially-made silver candelabra and a book, "The Climate Climb: India's strategy, actions and achievements" during their meeting which lasted for an hour.

With inputs from PTI



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3EuLXtV
FP Staff

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