The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines under the Quad initiative will be delivered in the first half of 2022, the foreign ministers of the coalition said on Friday, expressing satisfaction over rapid progress in expansion of the production at a facility in India. At a meeting in Melbourne, the foreign ministers of the four members of the Quad--India, Australia, Japan and the US--also agreed to expedite the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at a media briefing that it was agreed to expedite the delivery of safe and affordable vaccines, support capacity building and augment infrastructure for last-mile delivery. "Together, we have pledged to donate more than 1.3 billion vaccine doses globally. We are pleased with the Quad Vaccine Partnership's rapid progress in expanding vaccine production at the Biological E Ltd facility in India, which aims to deliver at least 1 billion vaccines by the end of 2022," a joint statement after the meeting said. It said the Quad partners have collectively provided more than 500 million vaccine doses.

"We look forward to the delivery of the first batch of Quad-supported vaccines in the first half of this year. We are assisting to train healthcare workers, combat vaccine hesitancy and augment infrastructure, especially cold chain systems, for 'last mile' vaccine delivery," the statement said. It said the Quad is working to identify and address vaccine gaps and barriers exacerbated by gender, disability and social inequities, and ensure safe, effective, affordable and quality-assured vaccination coverage in hard-to-reach areas.

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"We welcome the timely initiative for coordinating the response to combat the COVID pandemic under a Global Action Plan for enhanced engagement," the joint statement said. At the joint media briefing with his counterparts, Jaishankar said India will work together with the Quad partners to give shape and substance to the grouping's positive agenda to make it a force for global good as articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Quad's discussions and efforts to build resilient supply chains, enhance the availability of trusted critical technologies, counter disinformation and uphold rules-based multilateral trading system will contribute to fostering global economic resilience," Jaishankar said.

The external affairs minister said that the Quad vaccine initiative and the collective vaccine delivery have been very crucial in the Indo-Pacific for countries to meet the challenges arising out of the pandemic. "We are taking forward initiatives and efforts aimed at resilient supply chains and trusted critical technologies, climate action, educational linkages," he said.

First Published:Feb 11, 2022 10:10 PM IST