New Delhi, May 7 :
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sought Australia’s support for the initiative taken at the WTO by India and South Africa to seek a temporary waiver of patent protection on Covid-19 vaccines. Modi spoke on telephone with Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia, and the two leaders agreed on the need to ensure affordable and equitable access to vaccines and medicines for containing the pandemic globally.The Prime Minister thanked Morrison for the support extended by the government and people of Australia for India’s fight against the second wave of COVID-19. “Prime Minister sought Australia’s support for the initiative taken at the WTO by India and South Africa to seek a temporary waiver under TRIPS in this context, ” said the PMO in a statement. The two premiers also took note of the progress made in the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership since the Virtual Summit held in June 2020 and discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation and foster people-to-people ties. They also discussed regional issues and reiterated the importance of working together for a rules-based international
Modi seeks
order and a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. “Just spoke with our friend, PM @narendramodi who thanked Australia for standing by India during the #COVID19 crisis. We’re supporting them with ventilators and oxygen concentrators. We won’t forget India’s generosity in exporting vaccines. We’ll work closely on global challenges,” tweeted Morrison after the talks.
