Jaishankar to visit United States on May 24; economy and vaccine cooperation on agenda
By Anish Kumar | First Published May 21, 2021, 7:20 PM ISTThe External Affairs Ministry, in a statement, said that the minister is expected to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York and hold discussions with his American counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington, DC.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be visiting the United States from May 24-28 to discuss bilateral relations and Covid vaccine-related issues.
The External Affairs Ministry, in a statement, said that the minister is expected to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York and hold discussions with his American counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington, DC.
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He will also be meeting Cabinet members and senior Joe Biden administration officials dealing with the bilateral relationship.
During his four-day visit, he will have two interactions with business forums on economic and Covid-related cooperation between the two countries.
On Thursday, US State Department's Coordinator for Global Covid Response Gayle Smith said, "As President Biden announced, we will share 20 million vaccine doses in addition to 60 million AstraZeneca doses announced earlier. That means we would share 80 million doses making us the largest vaccine sharer so far."
In reply to a question on the plan for India and doses under consideration for New Delhi, she said, "I can't tell what allocation we have per country. Given the surge in India, it has been a major priority for us. We look at 100 million dollars in assistance and a mobilized private sector with an amazing response. But no call has been taken on ultimate allocation but we will reach out."
"India has been a major priority for us. We have delivered $100 million in emergency assistance; mobilized with the American private sector a pretty amazing response, again & we’ll continue to do so," she said.
On the Quad vaccine initiative, Smith said, "In principle, those doses are available for internal use but also for export to the rest of the world but final allocation or plan for that will depend on what conditions we are facing at the time they are available."
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