EAM Jaishankar met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York and secretary of state Antony Blinken in Washington as part of his visit to the US during May 24-28, 2021. During the five-day visit, he also met several top officials in the field of defense and trade. The list of Jaishankar’s work during this visit was bound to be long. So without further ado, lets move on to learn more about the outcome of EAM’s journey.
Ensuring the supply of raw materials for the vaccine
According to the top sources of the Ministry of External Affairs, Covid-19 vaccines and the lingering impact of a US law on exports of vaccine raw materials were expected to figure prominently in external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s interactions with senior American officials during his visit.
Indian manufacturers were facing problems due to legal restrictions on American suppliers. Eliminating the shortage of vaccine in the country is the biggest issue before the Modi government at this time. United States President Joe Biden has pledged to share 80 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to various countries including India.
However, whatever comes to India’s share will not be enough.
The cost of vaccine production in India is much lower than in any other country. Keeping the long term goals in mind, it is logical to produce the vaccine in India. Jaishankar tried to show the US that by September 2021, India will start producing 300 million vaccine doses every month if India gets all the material to make the vaccine at the right time.
In five months’ time, more than three new vaccine manufacturers will start work in India and more than 10 new factories will start this production. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson has said that India is in talks with pharma companies like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna regarding vaccine production. Manufacturing of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine requires 280 ingredients and components that relies upon 86 suppliers in 19 countries.
So, in reality, merely relaxing the patent rules or sharing the license to manufacture the vaccine is not going to solve the problem of Indian manufacturers. The supply of ingredients (i.e. raw materials to make vaccines) is also very important to help the manufacturers. EAM S Jaishankar tried to resolve the issue during his visit.
According to government estimates, Indian manufacturers are in urgent need of around 360 ingredients from 10 countries. Of these, more than 200 are from America, more than 100 from Germany, then from Singapore to Denmark, Poland to Japan are also included in the list of suppliers. Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech, makers of CoviShield and Covaxin, are finding themselves helpless due to the enforcement of the Defense Production Act by the Donald Trump administration in March 2020.
The President Joe Biden administration has also extended this law. According to this law, no vaccine or medical equipment can be exported outside the country until America’s own needs are met. This law prevents American suppliers from supplying the raw materials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine being made in the US to India or elsewhere. A week after Jaishankar’s visit, significant changes were announced by the US to help India.
On June 3, the Biden Administration has removed Defense Production Act priority ratings on AstraZeneca, Novavax and Sanofi vaccines. The move would let companies take their own decision on whom they want to sell their vaccines.
After Jaishankar’s visit to the US, the central government thinks that the country will have enough vaccines by August-September to run the vaccination program smoothly.
Despite the mismanagement, India still remains the center of cheap vaccine manufacturing. India will just need vaccine technology transfer rights, patents and ingredients. If all these are arranged well then India can prepare better quality vaccines at subsidized prices, not only for the people of our country but for the world. The Modi government is seriously trying to get back the lost credibility in vaccine production once again.
Trying to get the economy back on track
A lot of effort will have to be made to bring the Indian economy back on track. The possibility of Indo-US cooperation was also discussed during Jaishankar’s US visit. America’s economy is quite balanced these days. In the next two months, if markets would open in India, factories become operational, then India-US trade can increase. The External Affairs Minister has also interacted with business forums on economic and Covid-related cooperation between India and the US.
Biden administration’s tough approach towards China
One aspect of the visit was to understand the new US administration and its vision after Trump was ousted from power. President Joe Biden has ordered US intelligence to investigate the origins of covid-19 and report it within 90 days. This order clearly shows that China is the first priority in America’s foreign policy at this time. And it seems that even the Biden administration is not taking a soft stance on China. The US and China will remain rivals, albeit for a short time. The Quad alliance of the US, India, Japan and Australia in the Indo-Pacific region is getting stronger in the Biden administration. Jaishankar’s visit has brought more clarity to India about the Quad and its future. The US is more serious than ever about the Quad and its role in the Indo-Pacific.
Focus on global diplomacy
India is also interested to see how the US is also serious about strengthening the Quad on the one hand and at the same time holding high level meetings with Russia. In a significant development, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet face-to-face on June 16. This proposed conference in Geneva, Switzerland, shows how much change is taking place in global diplomacy. It will be the first such visit since Biden took office in January. India has noted that Biden has held this summit with Russia rather than China or any other closest ally of the US. India feels that it will be a beneficial event as the country has good relations with both Russia and America.
It would not be unjust to say that Jaishankar’s visit to the US was very special, as hardly any foreign minister in history has visited the capital of the world’s largest country and used diplomacy to supply the raw materials needed to defeat a virus.
