PM Modi’s diplomacy led US to grant India waiver for vaccine raw materials: MEA

“During Covid, PM Modi asked US President not to stop the vaccine supply chain for India and the world and as a result of that, the US administration gave India an exemption in the Defence Production Act and due to that our vaccination program went smoothly,” MEA S Jaishankar said at an event in Gujarat’s Vadodara.

The waiver was a critical development for India, which hoped to increase vaccine production in order to inoculate Indian population during the Covid-19 outbreak, he added.

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In February 2021, the US lifted an embargo imposed under its Defence Production Act, which required India to use resources to produce doses for its population.

Following the lift of the embargo on the raw materials required to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccine, Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla credited US President Joe Biden and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for the ‘policy change’, stating that this will increase raw material supply globally.

“US vaccine manufacturers, we are confident in the supply of our authorized vaccines. As a result, we’re removing the DPA priority ratings for AstraZeneca, Novavax, and Sanofi,” the White House had said in a statement.

Furthermore, in a thinly veiled reference to Pakistan, Jaishankar said, “Our neighbor is an expert in international terrorists and warned that if terrorism is being done against us, tomorrow it will be done against you.”

“We have a neighbor like we are experts in IT (information technology) they’re experts in ‘international terrorists. It’s going on for years…but we could explain to the world that terrorism is terrorism, today it’s being done against us, tomorrow it will be against you,” Jaishankar added.

Jaishankar also informed that the world’s understanding of terrorism has improved since previous times and that it is no longer tolerated. “Countries using terrorism are under pressure and are further reluctant,” he said.

With Inputs from ANI.