Covid-19: India a global leader in pandemic response efforts, says UN Secy Gen Guterres

Showering praise on the Indian government’s move to play a central role in making Coronavirus vaccines available to different countries, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has termed India “a global leader” in the pandemic response efforts. The comments, made by the UN Secretary-General, were made public by the Indian Permanent Representative to the United Nations TS Tirumurti in a tweet on Saturday. The comments about India’s increased contribution towards making Coronavirus vaccines accessible to different countries were mentioned in a letter written by the UN Secretary-General Guterres to Tirumurti.

In view of the recent decision taken by the Indian government to offer 2 lakh doses of Coronavirus vaccine for the UN Peacekeeping forces, Guterres in his letter wrote that he was personally grateful for the humanitarian gesture shown by the country and thanked Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar profusely in his letter.

A small portion of the letter made public by Tirumurti showed Guterres mentioning that India had established itself as a global leader in response to the pandemic by not only offering Coronavirus vaccines but also sending PPE kits, critical medicines, diagnostic kits, and life-saving ventilators.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Jaishankar in his address to the UN Security Council open debate had announced India’s decision to offer 2 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines for UN Peacekeeping forces. Putting the essence of the Bhagavad Gita prominently in his address, the diplomat turned Foreign Minister said that India always kept the welfare of others in mind in all its actions. The action taken by India would bring all the personnel of the UN Peacekeeping forces under the ambit of vaccination. According to a PTI report, there are a total of 94,484 personnel presently working in different countries around the world under the UN Peacekeeping forces banner.

India has traditionally been one of the few countries which contribute a large number of its defence personnel to the UN Peacekeeping missions and has also based its claim to get a permanent UN Security Council membership on the basis of its contribution to the UN Peacekeeping forces.