The leaders of the four Quad countries — the United States, India, Japan and Australia — have agreed to build an Indo-Pacific specific vaccine initiative during their first virtual summit on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
"United in our fight against Covid-19, we launched a landmark Quad partnership to ensure accessibility of safe Covid-19 vaccines. India’s formidable vaccine production capacity will be expanded with support from Japan, the US & Australia to assist countries in the Indo-Pacific region," PM Modi wrote.
"Reiterated India’s commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific in line with our vision of SAGAR - Security and Growth for All in the Region," PM added.
Explaining what Quad vaccine initiative is, foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said, "This is a vaccine supply chain which is built by trust and being built to convey trust. It is an example of human-centric international cooperation and globalisation that the Prime Minister has referred to on more than one occasion."
{{/usCountry}}Explaining what Quad vaccine initiative is, foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said, "This is a vaccine supply chain which is built by trust and being built to convey trust. It is an example of human-centric international cooperation and globalisation that the Prime Minister has referred to on more than one occasion."
{{/usCountry}}"It is also a validation of our reputation as a reliable manufacturer of high-quality vaccines and pharmaceutical products during this Covid crisis that has been much in evidence. And I must say that during the discussions, there was a wholesome appreciation by the other Quad leaders on India's role in providing vaccines to 70 countries all over the world under the Vaccine Maitri initiative," he added.
"What we are creating are additional capacities. This, I repeat, will not, in any matter, affect our domestic vaccine production and roll-out," he said.
Quad vaccine Initiative will be like an extension of the Vaccine Maitri initiative, the foreign secretary said, adding that Make-in-India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat are reliable contributors to global supply chains and augment global reliability of critical commodities and products.
The Quad leaders agreed to create three working groups — vaccine expert working group, critical and emerging technology working group and climate working group.