Jaishankar’s visit to US to focus on Covid vaccines  

INDIA’S foreign minister S Jaishankar will meet the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, on Monday (24) to emphasise the procurement of coronavirus vaccines.

During his five-day visit to the country, the minister explore the possibility of joint production as well as procurement of coronavirus vaccine with American companies.

He will also meet cabinet members and senior officials of the US administration, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said.

Jaishankar will also meet business leaders to discuss economic and Covid-related cooperation between the two countries.

It will be the first visit by a senior Indian minister to the US after president Joe Biden assumed office in January.

It is understood that Jaishankar is likely to focus on speeding up the supply of raw materials from the US to boost vaccine production in India and also explore the option of joint production.

In February, the US government limited the export of raw materials to in order to expand its own domestic vaccine production.

A spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, said on Thursday (20) that India is engaged with American entities for procurement of Covid-19 vaccines and their possible manufacturing in India subsequently.

Charge D'Affaires of the US embassy Daniel B Smith, said recently that the US was looking at joint production of Johnson and Johnson's Covid-19 vaccines in India and also exploring ways to help manufacturers, such as the Serum Institute of India (SII), to boost production.

Providing raw materials for the production of coronavirus vaccines was a major component of the Biden administration's announcement on medical aid to India.