EAM S Jaishankar held talks with US Global Task Force on Pandemic Relief

The External Affairs Minister of India, S Jaishankar on May 13, 2021, interacted with a global task force of top American Companies. The task force was set up in April 2021 to support India in tackling the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Union Minister informed about the virtual meeting through series of tweets and mentioned that he talked about India’s priorities such as vaccines, oxygen, and pharmaceuticals as well as the significance of effective supply chains.

Interacted with the US Global Task Force on Pandemic Relief. Appreciate the participation of the CEOs and their support for India’s current efforts. pic.twitter.com/hQfacIrpUr

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 13, 2021

During the meeting, Jaishankar appreciated the participation of the CEOs of the American companies and their extended support for India’s current efforts. He also underlined the global implications of a stronger India-US health collaboration.

Objective:

The US Global Task Force on Pandemic Relief was launched for providing a unified platform for the businesses to mobilize as well as deliver resources to assist the COVID-19 efforts in regions of the highest need around the world.

Working of the Task Force:

The US Global Task Force has been working in close collaboration with the Indian and the US government officials to share information as well as coordinate efforts. It includes regular briefings with PM Modi and Biden administrations, US Senate Department, US Congress, and the United States Agency for the International Development.

US Global Task Force on Pandemic Relief: Key details

• The CEOs of about top 40 US Companies, in order to show solidarity with India, came together to create the country-specific global task force to help India fight the battle against the second wave of the pandemic.

• The members of the steering committee of the task force include Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon; Julie Sweet, CEO, Accenture; Tim Cook, CEO, Apple; Raj Subramaniam, President, FedEx; Brian Moynihan, CEO, Bank of America; and Arvind Krishna, CEO, and Chairman, IBM.

Countries extend help to India amid the second wave:

As India has been battling the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, several nations around the world have been sending medical supplies to help the country.

The leading nations that have delivered medical supplies to India are Russia, the US, the UK, France, Australia, Germany, Romania, Ireland, Belgium, Singapore, Luxembourg, Sweden, Portugal, Kuwait, New Zealand, and Mauritius.