At a closed-door meeting of Quad leaders in Tokyo, US President Joe Biden reportedly praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for handling the Covid-19 crisis in India “successfully in a democratic manner”.
Biden contrasted India’s success with China’s failure in dealing with the pandemic despite the fact that they are neighbouring countries with comparable populations.
He (Biden) added that PM Modi’s success has shown the world that democracies can deliver, and dispelled the myth that autocracies like China and Russia are able to cope better with rapidly changing worlds because their leaders are able to make decisions without going through lengthy democratic processes,” an official said.
During the Quad session, the Australian and Japanese leaders praised India’s efforts in manufacturing and supplying Covid-19 vaccines to the world in a short timeframe.
Anthony Albanese, the new Australian Prime Minister, said India’s vaccines are making a difference on the ground and “a success like that is more valuable than just winning an idea competition”.
Japan’s Fumio Kishida also praised India’s contribution and noted that Indian-built vaccines were recently welcomed in Thailand and Cambodia under the Quad Vaccine Initiative.
The Quad Vaccine Partnership was announced by the leaders of the four-nation grouping at their first summit on March 12, 2021. By expanding manufacturing and assisting countries in the Indo-Pacific with vaccination, the Quad will leverage its collective strength to ensure global availability of safe and effective vaccines.This initiative involved four countries – India, the U.S., Japan and Australia – providing over 1.2 billion doses of Covid vaccines globally.
With the help of India, vaccines are being manufactured and supplied, while Australia and Japan have provided cold storage equipment, freezers, and temperature monitors, along with safety equipment for health care workers.
US assistance has been provided with surveillance, contact tracing, case investigation, health worker training, and data management.