Strongly pitching all support to India, France President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said “India does not need lectures about vaccine supplies” while expressing his support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at India-EU virtual summit attended by other 26 countries from European Union. In response to the COVID-19 vaccine shortage and criticism aimed at the Indian government, Macron asserted that India does not need to be ‘lectured from anyone’ on vaccine supplies.
The virtual summit was attended by Germany’s Angela Merkel and the EU president Ursula Von Der Leyen amongst others where Macron highlighted India’s vaccine exports to several countries in the time of the pandemic. “I want to send a message of solidarity to the Indian people, facing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. France is with you in this struggle, which spares no one. We stand ready to provide our support,” said Macron.
The EU appreciated India’s “Vaccine Maitri” of exporting vaccines to 90 countries from January to March. India had exported more than 6.6 crore dose of vaccine to 90 countries.
Later issued EU-India joint statement of the meeting said: “We acknowledged the difficult circumstances caused globally by the pandemic. We deeply condoled the loss of lives and expressed the deepest sympathy with the families of the victims of this pandemic in India, Europe and the rest of the world. We agreed that defeating the COVID-19 pandemic through global cooperation and solidarity remains our priority and underlined our commitment to work together to ensure a better, safer, sustainable and inclusive recovery, including in the context of this year’s G20 Summit in Rome.
“We supported universal, safe, equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and treatments, and the strengthening of health systems, and acknowledged the key role of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) in this regard. Recognising the role of extensive immunisation as a global public good and concurring that the vaccination process is not a race amongst countries but a race against time, we welcomed the EU’s and its Member States’ contribution to vaccines’ production and their substantial support to the COVAX Facility, as well as India’s efforts to produce and distribute COVID-19 vaccines to over 90 countries through its ‘Vaccine Maitri’. India appreciated the EU’s and its Member States’ quick support and assistance, coordinated through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, thus keeping the spirit of solidarity and cooperation that has been the hallmark of EU-India relations.”
Detailed EU-India Joint statement of six pages can be read[1]
[1] Joint Statement – EU-India Leaders’ Meeting, 8 May 2021 – May 08, 2021, Council of the European Union
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