Ahead of the G7 Summit, French President Emmanuel Macron has called for easing the supply of raw materials for the production of Covid vaccines to India and some other countries. He said such step was absolutely necessary to increase the vaccine manufacturing for their own requirement as well to help the African region.
At a press conference Emmanuel Macron said, “There have been export bans by several G7 member countries that blocked production in other countries and sometimes blocked production in middle-income countries, which is essential for production of vaccines for poorest countries. I’ll take just one example, India.”
"India, and in particular the Serum Institute of India, has been blocked in its production by export restrictions on the ingredients needed to produce these vaccines from certain G7 economies," the French president said.
It is to be noted that in April CEO of Serum Institute of India Adar Poonawalla, had said that COVID-19 vaccines in the country had taken a hit because of the restrictions imposed by the United States and the European countries on the export of critical raw material.
French President Macron also favoured a proposal by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organisation for a temporary lift on the patents on COVID-19 vaccines and said France will raise the issue at the G7 summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate virtually in the outreach sessions of the summit on June 12 and 13.
