Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated virtually in the outreach sessions of the Group of Seven (G7) on Saturday, 12 June, where he said that the summit should send out a message of "One Earth One Health" for the whole world. He also expressed appreciation for the support extended by the G7 and other guest countries during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
The PM also reportedly committed India's support for collective endeavours to improve global health governance.
He called for global unity, leadership, and solidarity to prevent future pandemics, emphasising on the special responsibility of democratic and transparent societies in this regard.
Further, PM Modi, as per a government press release, “explained India’s successful use of open source digital tools for contact tracing and vaccine management, and conveyed India's willingness to share its experience and expertise with other developing countries.”
According to ANI, PM Modi also sought the G7's support for the proposal moved at the WTO by India and South Africa, for a TRIPS (The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver on COVID related technologies
The Prime Minister is also slated to participate in the final day of the summit on Sunday and address two more sessions.
India has so far reported over three lakh deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the second wave witnessing an acute paucity of life-saving resources and being considered more harrowing than the first.
MORE ABOUT THE SUMMIT
The UK, as the G7 president, invited India, Australia, South Africa, and South Korea to summit, ANI had previously reported.
In view of the devastating COVID-19 situation in the country, PM Modi had cancelled his in-person visit to the UK for the summit last month.
The summit officially commenced on Friday, 11 June, as leaders of the world's largest economies congregated on the Cornish coast, first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus in 2020.
The focus for G7 summit 2021 is "Build Back Better" and the the UK, as the hosting nation has identified four priority areas to be discussed – global recovery from COVID-19 and building resilience against pandemics in the future; championing free and fair trade; taking measures for climate change and preserving earth’s biodiversity; championing shared values and open societies – news agency ANI reported.
Earlier this week, Britain had announced that G7 leaders will agree to provide at least one billion COVID vaccine doses to the world by expanding their global manufacturing of jabs through sharing and financing schemes.
The UK added that it would start by donating five million doses by the end of September and at least 100 million surplus doses within the next year, news agency AFP reported.
(With inputs from ANI and AFP)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)