Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden had a phone call on Monday evening. Describing the phone call as 'fruitful', PM Modi said he thanked Biden for providing India support amid the massive second Covid wave.
"Had a fruitful conversation with @POTUS @JoeBiden today. We discussed the evolving COVID situation in both countries in detail. I thanked President Biden for the support being provided by the United States to India," PM Modi tweeted.
"My discussion with @POTUS @JoeBiden also underscored the importance of smooth and efficient supply chains of vaccine raw materials and medicines. India-US healthcare partnership can address the global challenge of COVID-19," the prime minister added.
Modi-Biden talks come a day after the US assured India that it will immediately provide the specific raw materials required for manufacturing the Covishield vaccine. A top White House official said that the Biden administration was "working around the clock" to deploy all resources and supplies to bolster the country's fight against the deadly COVID-19 spike.
The Biden administration has come under criticism from several quarters, including from members and supporters of the Democratic Party, for not releasing surplus COVID-19 vaccines to India when the country is experiencing its worst-ever public health crisis.
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India has urged the US to supply the raw materials for manufacturing the Covishield vaccine.
Expressing deep sympathy for the people of India following the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan, in a telephonic call with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Sunday, affirmed America’s solidarity with India.
"Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, the United States is determined to help India in its time of need," Emily Horne, spokesperson of the US NSA said after the phone call between Sullivan and Doval.
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"Building on the seven-decade health partnership between the United States and India -- including battles against smallpox, polio and HIV -- they resolved that India and the United States will continue to fight the global COVID-19 pandemic together," Horne said.
Observing that the US is "working around the clock" to deploy available resources and supplies, Horne said that the US has "identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine that will immediately be made available for India".
(With PTI Inputs)
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