India is ‘incredibly important’ partner to United States in the region and globally: White House

 

India is an “incredibly important” partner to the US in the region and globally, the White House has said, underlining that America is working with the country on wide-ranging issues like economic, strategic and security.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said that the US took a range of steps to help India to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“India is an incredibly important partner to the United States in the region and globally. We work with India on a range of issues, as you well know — economic, strategic, security,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.

“The United States certainly took a range of steps, as India was at the early stages of dealing with a rise in the pandemic, to help provide a range of assistance, and we will continue to do that moving forward,” Psaki said in response to a question.

In April and May, India struggled with the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new cases. Hospitals were reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds. In mid-May, new coronavirus cases in India hit a record daily high with 4,12,262 new infections.

In May, President Joe Biden announced USD 100 million worth of COVID-19 assistance to India.

The US-India Chambers of Commerce Foundation has raised more than USD 1.2 million for coronavirus-related efforts in India.

With a record-breaking fundraising, US-India Chambers of Commerce Foundation has shipped or en route nearly 120 ventilators and over 1,000 oxygen concentrators, a release said on June 3.

Also, India will be a significant recipient of the US vaccines after Biden announced details of his administration’s decision to send 25 million COVID-19 shots to countries across the globe.

India has been included in both the identified categories – direct supply to neighbours and partner countries, and under the COVAX initiative.

On June 4, Vice President Kamala Harris personally made a call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi  to inform him about the administration’s decision to send tens of thousands of doses of life-saving COVID-19 vaccines to India.

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