EAM Jaishankar praises QUAD's efforts in COVID vaccine drive, highlights India's recovery

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar praised the Quad's (Australia, India, Japan, and the United States) efforts in producing and distributing COVID-19 vaccinations, saying that the group had a 'resilient, reliable supply chain'. 

Jaishankar stated during a panel discussion titled "Greater Power Competition: The Emerging World Order" at the Bloomberg New Economic Forum in Singapore, "It's interesting, one of the initiatives under Quad (Australia, India, Japan and US) to jointly produce and distribute vaccines, which would be an American vaccine, made in India, Japanese will come in with a lot of financial support and Australians with a lot of logistics support."

"Decentralized globalisation, a more resilient, dependable supply chain, is what I'm looking for. More trust and transparency, as well as more adaptable combinations, convene to generate solutions to specific situations," stated the minister. 

"If I look at the pharma business as a whole, not just vaccines, there was a moment when hydroxychloroquine or paracetamol were in high demand. In fact, we had scaled up 10 times, even 15-20 times, for many drugs," Jaishankar added.

He also discussed India's difficulties during the pandemic and how quickly the country recovered.

"It's been a test for us, a lot of it was about our own survival, our own responses. I think we have come out of it very strong. Strong enough to be much more relevant for global public health needs," said the minister.

EAM Jaishankar in Singapore

"The biggest lesson would have been that we should have done a better job, building our own capacities. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had a programme that translates into building a self-reliant India," noted Jaishankar.

Concerning the hurdles, Jaishankar stated that during the pandemic, India had only two businesses assembling ventilators and lacked mask manufacturers.

"At the time when COVID-19 hit us, we had two companies which were assembling ventilators. There was no N95 masks producer, we use to get valves from outside and make them. There was very little medical equipment's. During that period, we had scaled up enormously.

Today, when I look at I see health infrastructure that has grown up in response to COVID-19. We have literally set up thousands of COVID-19 treatment centres which will outlast COVID-19," said Jaishankar.

He used India's revolution in the health industry as an example.

"The health sector is undergoing transition. We have demonstrated that by combining digital technologies and newly developed production facilities, it is possible for a country with a per capita income of less than USD 2000 to reach out on a big scale in public health," he mentioned.  

Jaishankar also discussed India's role as a major vaccine production centre, as well as its efficiency.

"The second positive conclusion for us is why India has become a key vaccine production centre. Why do you have various vaccinations that are produced in multiple countries, yet Indian plants have a very high and efficient result? I believe that HR quality and abilities are present. A variety of customs and traditions have been brought to bear on the COVID-19 issue. It has expanded," Jaishankar concluded.

(with inputs from ANI)

Image: ANI