Chairman Sir, I rise to apprise this august House of the progress we have made in taking forward the Vaccine Maitri initiative. Before I share the details of the initiative itself, I seek the indulgence of the House to explain the thinking behind it.
2. Chairman Sir, as Indians, we are all naturally internationalist by
virtue of our culture, traditions, heritage and history. We have never seen
a contradiction between this internationalism and the nationalism that was
the driver of our independence struggle and subsequent endeavours at nation
building. Indeed, this experience of the freedom movement has even further
reinforced our internationalism, by creating a strong solidarity with other
nations who similarly struggled for their freedom. In recent years, as
democracy struck deeper roots, we have found our own cultural expressions
and identities that define us in a diverse world. In fact, drawing from our
heritage, we have become even stronger voices for international cooperation
and solidarity. That, of course, is most in demand at times of global
stress, such as the Covid pandemic.
3. Chairman Sir, many of us may share these sentiments and beliefs. The challenge of policy-making is to give that a practical shape. In the case of our Government, Prime Minister Modi’s vision has provided an over-arching framework to make our goodwill meaningful in terms of practical initiatives and activities. We already saw that in our humanitarian assistance and disaster responses, whether in Yemen and Nepal or Mozambique and Fiji. As a result, in the last few years, India has developed a reputation of being the first and reliable responder in the region. We saw that too in critical negotiations of global importance like the Paris Agreement, where we had a key bridging role. Or indeed in the International Solar Alliance or the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, two notable initiatives envisioned by the Prime Minister. When it came to Africa, we raised the level of our cooperation very substantially at the IAFS-3 Summit in 2015. Our projects, training and presence has today spread widely across that continent. From the Caribbean to the Pacific Islands, the message has been clear that the Prime Minister of India not only has the willingness to engage them personally, but to back that up with concrete development programmes. It is this outlook of human-centric global cooperation that is the driving force of Vaccine Maitri.
4. Sir, even as the Covid pandemic was in full fury, there were already
global demands of our pharmaceutical and medical capabilities. If we could
meet them, it was largely due to the extraordinary ramp up of our
Covid-related capabilities with which the House is familiar. We are all
cognizant of the low fatality rates and the high recovery rates that
resulted from the Prime Minister’s leadership and the Government’s focused
efforts. But there was an external beneficial impact of our capabilities as
well. India could meet the spiking requirements of hydroxychloroquine,
paracetamol and other relevant drugs across the world. In fact, we supplied
150 nations with medicines, 82 of them as grants by India. As our own
production of masks, PPEs and diagnostic kits grew, we made them available
to other nations as well. This generous approach, so characteristic of our
culture, was also extended to the Vande Bharat Mission. Starting from
Wuhan, we brought back nationals of other countries while looking after our
own.
5. The House would, therefore, appreciate that as we contemplated the
prospect of vaccination against Covid-19, a similar approach was natural.
Our domestic vaccination programme started in January 2021 and within a few
days, we also started assisting our immediate neighbours.
6. Chairman Sir, the basis for doing so was the assurance that Prime
Minister gave in his virtual address to the UN General Assembly in
September 2020. On that occasion, he declared that India’s vaccine
production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in
fighting this crisis. We also offered to enhance cold chain and storage
capacities for the delivery of vaccines. This approach is not only in
keeping with our age-old tradition of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, as I have
noted earlier. It is also the contemporary outlook of this Government to
utilize India’s growing capacities for the benefit of humankind. As a
prominent nation in an increasingly multi-polar world, the international
community has greater expectations of us, and we, in turn, are prepared to
demonstrate our willingness to shoulder greater responsibilities.
7. From the very beginning, India has always believed that the pandemic
threatens the entire humanity and that the rightful response would be a
collective one. Accordingly, as early as 15 March 2020, Prime Minister took
the initiative to hold a meeting of SAARC Heads of Governments to fashion a
regional response. An important outcome was the creation of the SAARC
COVID-19 Fund that supported the early exchanges on this issue within the
region. We then held workshops and training courses to strengthen
capacities for handling vaccines and other aspects of public health and
COVID-19 management. Most recently, that was followed up by a meeting of
our senior health officials of the region on 18 February 2021. They shared
the outcome of their deliberations with Prime Minister, who urged a special
visa scheme for doctors and nurses, coordinating a regional air ambulance
agreement, a platform for studying data on the effectiveness of vaccines
and a network for technology-assisted epidemiology for preventing future
pandemics.
8. Chairman Sir, our efforts, of course, went well beyond the neighbourhood when it came to online training and capability building. The Ministry of External Affairs conducted 14 e-ITEC courses in partnership with premier institutions like AIIMS and PGI Chandigarh. There was even an exclusive one conducted in Bangla for Bangladeshi professionals. And one by Armed Forces Medical Services for the military doctors in South-east Asia. These 14 courses had a total of 1131 professional participants from 47 countries.
9. In planning and executing Vaccine Maitri, we are naturally guided by a
determination to make a difference at a difficult moment for global
society. Our reputation as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’ has been reinforced
in that process. So indeed has the faith in ‘Make in India’. But more than
the vaccines themselves, our policies and conduct have emerged as a source
of strength for the stressed and vulnerable nations of the world. They can
see that there is at least one major nation that truly believes in making
vaccines accessible and affordable to others in dire need.
10. The House should be aware that the supply of vaccines abroad is based
on the assessment of adequate availability at home. This is continuously
monitored and takes into account the requirements of our domestic
vaccination programme as it unfolds in different phases. An empowered
Committee oversees this entire process.
11. Quite appropriately, Vaccine Maitri began in the immediate
neighbourhood, starting with the Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri
Lanka and Myanmar, as also Mauritius and Seychelles. The extended
neighbourhood followed thereafter, especially the Gulf. Supplying smaller
and more vulnerable nations was then the logic of reaching out to regions
from Africa to the CARICOM. There was also contracts that our producers
have entered into with other nations, either bilaterally or through the
Covax initiative. To date, we have supplied ‘Made in India’ vaccines to 72
nations across geographies.
12. Sir, the House should recognize the enormous feeling for India that our
initiative has generated. Those sentiments have naturally been expressed by
leaders and prominent personalities of many nations. But more than that,
our Ambassadors feel every day the warmth of ordinary people across the
world for India. In the truest sense, this has been people-centric
diplomacy at work. The world sees not just the selfless outlook of India
but also of the quality of our products and capabilities. The Covid
pandemic has been a test of fire for all of us. But I can confidently state
that even in the midst of a global crisis, the Prime Minister’s initiative
of such deep friendship has raised India’s standing and generated great
international goodwill for us.
Thank You.
