Prime Minister Narendra Modi has again called for a temporary waiver on COVID-19 vaccine patents. Addressing the G7 summit’s outreach session virtually on June 12, Modi stressed the special responsibility of democratic and transparent societies in dealing with the challenge, an official statement said.
India along with South Africa earlier asked the World Trade Organisation to waive the intellectual property rights (IPR) on coronavirus vaccines, drugs and therapeutics and related technologies.
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The Group of Seven (G7) comprises the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States are meting in Cornwall in southwest England. As chair of G7, the UK invited India, Australia, South Korea, South Africa to the summit as guest countries.
Here are key takeaways from Prime Minister Modi’s address the G7 summit:
> The Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the support extended by the G7 and other guest countries during the recent wave of COVID infections in India, a statement from PMO said.
> He also highlighted India’s “whole of society” approach to fight the pandemic, synergising the efforts at all levels of the government, industry and civil society.
> “The Prime Minister committed India’s support for collective endeavours to improve global health governance. He sought the G7’s support for the proposal moved at the WTO by India and South Africa for a TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver on COVID-related technologies,” the statement said.
> Modi said that G7 meeting should send out a message of “one earth, one health” for the whole world.
> A PTI report, Modi’s call for adopting a “one earth, one health” approach received support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
> Australia and several other countries also came out in strong support of Modi’s call to waive patents on coronavirus vaccines to boost their production.
> After the session, PM Modi tweeted, “Participated in the @G7 summit session on health. Thanked partners for the support during the recent COVID-19 wave. India supports global action to prevent future pandemics. ‘one earth, one health’ is our message to humanity.”
