Jaishankar, Blinken have ‘productive discussion’, Indian aspect highlights vaccine partnership

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, in what was their second assembly after they met on May 3 on the sidelines of the G-7 Foreign Ministers’ assembly in London.
After the assembly, each Jaishankar and Blinken known as it a “productive discussion”.
Blinken mentioned that they mentioned points on “regional security and economic priorities to include U.S. COVID-19 relief efforts, India-China border situation, and our support for Afghanistan”. “As friends, we will work together to address these areas of shared concern,” he mentioned.

Productive dialogue as we speak with @DrSJaishankar on regional safety and financial priorities to incorporate U.S. COVID-19 aid efforts, India-China border scenario, and our help for Afghanistan. As associates, we are going to work collectively to handle these areas of shared concern. pic.twitter.com/BtoGJTUGEr
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 28, 2021
 
Jaishankar mentioned that that additionally they “focused on Indo-US vaccine partnership aimed at expanding access and ensuring supply”. “Appreciated strong solidarity expressed by US at this time,” he tweeted.
He additionally mentioned that coated Indo Pacific and the Quad, Afghanistan, Myanmar,  UNSC issues and different worldwide organizations.
“Today’s talks have further solidified our strategic partnership and enlarged our agenda of cooperation,” he tweeted.

Pleasure to fulfill @SecBlinken. A productive dialogue on varied points of our bilateral cooperation in addition to regional and world points.
Covered Indo Pacific and the Quad, Afghanistan, Myanmar, UNSC issues and different worldwide organizations. pic.twitter.com/7UDkXsyJdC
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 28, 2021
Acting Assistant Secretary on the US State Department Dean Thompson instructed reporters that on the allocation of 80 million doses, “Final decisions are still pending and discussions and work is still underway to determine how and where those will be done.”
Thompson mentioned that US President Joe Biden has talked a few donation of as much as 80 million doses – 60 million doses of AstraZeneca which won’t be used within the United States instantly, in addition to an extra 20 million doses of vaccine that’s over and above what is required for the U.S. vaccine program.
“The 60 million doses of AstraZeneca are still undergoing the control checks by FDA and they will become available once those have been completed, and so I don’t have a specific timeframe to get, but I do hope that we’ll have news about those in the coming weeks,” he mentioned.

“In respect to the timing question about where we stand on that.… we will continue to work towards getting to that….as for allocations of these, final decisions are still pending and discussions and work is still underway to determine how and where those will be done.  There will be a combination of efforts with COVAX and with our – with partners as we go forward.  But those efforts are still underway.”
He additionally mentioned that there is no such thing as a export ban. “The President has been very clear that we’re working to be in a position to be able to share vaccines as well as knowhow with countries in real need, and our top priority is just making sure that we’re doing everything we can to save lives and end the pandemic.  It’s a global challenge, it requires a global response, and there – just want to reiterate there’s no ban on the export of vaccines or vaccine inputs,” Thompson mentioned.
According to an announcement launched by the US State Department, they mentioned points together with COVID-19 aid, efforts to strengthen Indo-Pacific cooperation by way of the Quad, and a shared dedication to combating the local weather disaster and enhancing multilateral cooperation, together with on the UN Security Council. “Secretary Blinken and Minister Jaishankar also discussed regional developments, the coup in Burma, and continuing support for Afghanistan.  Secretary Blinken and Minister Jaishankar pledged to continue their cooperation on shared economic and regional security priorities,” the assertion mentioned.
While India is battling a scarcity of vaccines, the US has surplus vaccines and uncooked supplies wanted to fabricate them.
At the start of the assembly, Blinken described Jaishankar as “my friend and colleague”. “The United States and India are working together on so many of the most important challenges of our time and ones that are putting a profound impact on our lives,” he mentioned.
“We are united in confronting Covid-19 together, we (are) united in dealing with the challenge posed by climate change, to partner together directly, through Quad and other institutions in the United Nations in dealing with many of the challenges that we face in the region and around the world,” Blinken mentioned.
“The partnership between the United States and India is vital. It’s strong. And I think it’s increasingly predominant,” he mentioned.
Echoing Blinken, Jaishankar mentioned, “We have a lot of issues to discuss. But our relations have grown stronger over the years and I’m very confident we’ll continue to do so, but I also want to take the opportunity to express to the Secretary and through him to the administration of the United States for the strong support and solidarity at a moment of great difficulty for us.”
At this level, Blinken mentioned, “We remember, in the earlier days of the pandemic, India was there with the United States. Something we’ll never forget. And now we want to make sure that we’re there for and with India.”
Jaishankar and Blinken have spoken not less than 4 occasions up to now three months, twice within the final fortnight, and as soon as on the Quad Foreign Ministers’ assembly by way of video-conferencing.
Over the final 24 hours, Jaishankar met senior US administration officers — Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, high American lawmakers from each the Democratic and Republican events, and high American enterprise leaders in Washington DC.
The points mentioned included vaccine cooperation, modern safety challenges, help for environment friendly and strong provide chain, amongst others. While there was no readout after the conferences, sources mentioned that vaccine cooperation was one of many key areas of dialog between the 2 sides, particularly on the conferences with Sullivan and Tai.
Jaishankar’s in-person conferences come days after US President Joe Biden introduced that the US will start delivery 20 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccines to unspecified needy international locations by June-end, along with 60 million pictures of AstraZeneca.

Although Washington has not but determined how these 80 million doses shall be distributed, India is more likely to be one of many beneficiaries — be it AstraZeneca, which is already made and distributed in India as Covishield, or those by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, or a mixture.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine just isn’t authorised to be used within the United States but. The US had cited faults in a plant in Baltimore that’s manufacturing each the AstraZenenca and J&J vaccines.