External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has called vaccination the only lasting solution to the Covid challenge, adding that global answer will require diversified production, uninterrupted supply chains and generous resourcing. Speaking at the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting on Wednesday (local time), the EAM said that India will do its part in fighting the global crisis. He further said that geopolitical changes have been accelerated by COVID-related trends and added that issues of transparency, reliability, and resilience will guide policy choices.
Regarding COVID-19-related online fake news which poses a threat to the public health system, he said: “Open Societies and personal freedoms require careful nurturing. Must be on guard against fake news and digital manipulation.” The EAM joined the sessions virtually due to possible exposure to coronavirus. Pointing that India had embraced Green Growth since 2014, he said: “Transformation stories include renewable capacity, Ujjwala, LED distribution, forest cover and Jal Jeevan. But higher green ambitions require larger green resources. COP26 will be a test.”
Thanking British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab for inviting India as a guest for G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting, Jaishankar said it was an “interactive and thought-provoking” session. “An interactive and thought-provoking G7 FMM concludes. Appreciated the opportunity to participate in its many conversations,” he tweeted. The members of the G7 are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with the European Union present as an observer.
As host, the UK invited additional countries to join as guests at the meeting, including India, Australia, South Africa, the Republic of Korea, and Brunei in its capacity as Chair of ASEAN. This was the first time that in-person meeting of the group’s foreign ministers was taking place after more than two years.
(ANI)
