Sitharaman Meets Top WTO Official in US Amidst India’s Push for IPR Waiver on Covid-19 Vaccine

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday met the Director General of WTO Ngozi Okonjo Iweala here in the US amidst India’s proposal for a temporary waiver of intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines and medicines worldwide. The meeting between Sitharaman and Iweala took place on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF annual meetings.

Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman interacts with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala @NOIweala, Director General @WTO on the sidelines of @WorldBank-@IMFNews Annual Meetings 2021 in Washington D.C., today, the Ministry of Finance said on Twitter. The meeting assumes significance as India along with South Africa has been pushing for a temporary waiver of intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines and medicines globally.

India in June suggested to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) members to begin text-based negotiations on the temporary TRIPs waiver proposal to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, India and South Africa had submitted the first proposal, suggesting a waiver for all WTO members on the implementation of certain provisions of the TRIPs Agreement in relation to the prevention, containment or treatment of COVID-19.