Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 10 assured his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau that India would do its best to facilitate the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to the North American country.
In a telephone call, Trudeau informed Modi about Canada's requirements of COVID-19 vaccines from India, according to a government statement.Was happy to receive a call from my friend @JustinTrudeau. Assured him that India would do its best to facilitate supplies of COVID vaccines sought by Canada. We also agreed to continue collaborating on other important issues like Climate Change and the global economic recovery.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 10, 2021
"Was happy to receive a call from my friend Justin Trudeau. Assured him that India would do its best to facilitate supplies of COVID vaccines sought by Canada," PM Modi said in a tweet.
During the call, the two leaders also reiterated the common perspective shared by the two countries on many important geopolitical issues, the statement said. The two nations also agreed to continue the close collaboration in fighting global challenges like climate change and the economic impacts of the pandemic, it said
Trudeau’s outreach indicated his clear intentions to improve ties with India, especially after his comments backing the farmers' protest had adversely impacted bilateral relations. The situation had turned from bad to worse when the security of Canada-based Indian diplomatic missions was being reportedly compromised following agitation by the Sikh groups in the country.
Last week, a video by an Opposition MP Michelle Rempel Garner showed her quizzing the Canadian Minister in charge of procuring COVID-19 vaccines whether the government had reached out to India for makeup for its difficulties in getting enough doses, had gone viral.
The Minister said she was "scouring the globe to find vaccines". I asked if she or Trudeau had called @narendramodi. Nope. pic.twitter.com/ExGCUStn1B
— Michelle Rempel Garner (@MichelleRempel) February 5, 2021
Garner, the shadow minister of health for the opposition Conservative Party, pinned the tweet of a video of her questioning minister of public services and procurement Anita Anand, whether she or Canadian PM Trudeau had reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The Minister said she was "scouring the globe to find vaccines". I asked if she or Trudeau had called Narendra Modi. Nope,” Garner shared the video on February 6.
In December, Trudeau’s comments on India’s farmers’ had raised hackles in the government and the viral video of the minister had raised questions about whether Canada’s stance on the farmers’ protest would affect its ability to procure vaccines from India.
But on February 10, Trudeau appreciated PM Modi's leadership in the global fight against COVID-19.
"Prime Minister Trudeau said that if the world managed to conquer COVID-19, it would be significant because of India's tremendous pharmaceutical capacity, and Prime Minister Modi's leadership in sharing this capacity with the world,” the February 10 statement said adding that PM Modi thanked PM Trudeau counterpart for his sentiments.
India has reportedly cleared the supply of 24 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 25 countries on a commercial basis in February. Canada, however, was not included in the list of countries. With over 8,13,000 Coronavirus cases including 20,984 deaths, Canada has reportedly sought 1 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).
"The two leaders looked forward to meeting each other in various important international fora later this year, and continuing their discussions on all issues of mutual interest," it said.