Quad leaders praise India's COVID-19 vaccine donation

"We celebrate the donation by the Quad to Cambodia and Thailand of WHO approved the Made in India vaccines, together with Quad members' other vaccine related support, as an example of tangible achievement of our collaboration," a joint statement issued after the summit read.

"We will continue to address both the Covid-19 response and preparedness against future health threats," the statement added.

Reviewing Quad's ongoing efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, the leaders welcomed the enhanced manufacturing capacity of Biological-E facility in India and called for the expeditious grant of EUL approval by the WHO so that delivery of vaccines can commence.

The joint statement said that the Quad countries have led and will continue to lead global efforts for Covid-19 response, with a view to building better health security and strengthening health systems.

"We commit to adapt our collective approaches to get ahead of the virus with a focus on preparing for new variants, and getting vaccines, tests, treatments, and other medical products to those at highest risk," the statement added.

The Quad countries said that they were proud to have delivered over 670 million doses, including at least 265 million, to the Indo-Pacific.

"We will accelerate getting shots in arms through last mile support of which over 2 billion USD has been provided in more than 115 countries globally by our four countries, and will also address vaccine hesitancy through a Quad-convened event this week at the World Health Assembly," the statement said.

(With UNI inputs)