US Vice President Kamala Harris assures PM Modi of Covid-19 vaccine supplies over phone call

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States Vice President Kamala Harris spoke over the phone on Thursday.

Harris informed Modi about the United States' plans to make anti-Covid-19 vaccines available to India and other countries under its "Strategy for Global Vaccine Sharing", which was announced by President Joe Biden in Washington DC on Thursday.

Also read: India unlikely to get much out of first tranche of US vaccine donation

Modi expressed his appreciation to the US Vice President for the decision of the Biden-Harris administration, as well as for all other forms of support and solidarity that New Delhi had received in recent days from Washington DC, businesses and the Indian-American community to respond to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Spoke to @VP Kamala Harris a short while ago. I deeply appreciate the assurance of vaccine supplies to India as part of the US Strategy for Global Vaccine Sharing,” Modi posted on Twitter.

They discussed ongoing efforts to strengthen the health supply chain between the US and India, including in the area of vaccine manufacturing. They highlighted the potential of the India-US partnership as well as the Quad vaccine initiative in addressing the long-term health impact of the pandemic, according to a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Prime Minister expressed the hope to welcome the US Vice President Harris in India soon after the normalisation of the global health situation.

This was Harris's first phone call with Modi after she took over as the US Vice President on January 20 this year.