As India fights the deadly pandemic Covid-19, France – one of the country’s trusted allies, has affirmed its faith in India’s leadership to tackle the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. Addressing the India-EU virtual summit, French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday expressed his solidarity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of 26 other EU leaders saying India did not need a “lecture from anyone” on vaccine supplies.
Amidst the massive propaganda unleashed by a section of foreign media to humiliate and shame India in international fora over its Covid-19 strategy, especially on the supply of vaccines, French President Macron asserted that India does not need to be ‘lectured from anyone’ on vaccine supplies. French President also highlighted India’s vaccine exports to several countries in the time of the pandemic.
“India does not need to listen to lectures from anyone about vaccine supplies. India has exported a lot for humanity to many countries. We know what situation India is in,” the French President said. The virtual summit was attended by Germany’s Angela Merkel and the EU president Ursula von der Leyen and amongst leaders of the European nations.
Condemning first world countries for blocking vaccines to other countries, President Emmanuel Macron said that the immediate priority of the developed countries should be to first donate more doses to poor countries.
“Evidently, we must turn this vaccine into a global public good,” President Macron said. He also added that the European Union was leading the way in vaccine donations and called for the United States and Britain to share more.
Vaccine Maitri initiative by India
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India had yet again come to the world’s aid by successfully supplying vaccines to its neighbouring and other developing countries at an extremely affordable cost, besides giving away millions of doses to friendly nations for free. At a time when Covid-19 wreaked havoc across the world, India exported indigenous vaccines to as many as 95 countries under its ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative.
More than 67 million COVID-19 jabs have been exported to countries worldwide, including Iran, Uganda, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Brazil, amongst others since India began manufacturing the vaccines. However, the export of vaccines to other countries has been currently stopped as domestic requirements have increased.
