India is playing the role as the “pharmacy of the world” during the Covid-19 pandemic with its vast experience and deep knowledge in medicine, setting the tone for many regional and global initiatives, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Secretary-General Vladimir Norov has said
Bengaluru: India is playing the role as the “pharmacy of the world” during the Covid-19 pandemic with its vast experience and deep knowledge in medicine, setting the tone for many regional and global initiatives, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Secretary-General Vladimir Norov has said.
India has so far supplied medicines to 133 countries in the fight against Covid-19, which shows India's generosity, despite the fact that the country's government has taken urgent measures to prevent and treat the disease on a national scale.
On the issue of India’s UNSC seat, he said, “This is more than symbolic now as India secures its non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council for the period of 2021-2022.
“I am sure that highly qualified scientists and medical professionals in India will take an active part in the efforts of the world community to study and research the coronavirus pandemic and develop a vaccine,” Norov said.
Beijing-headquartered SCO is an eight-member economic and security bloc. India and Pakistan were admitted into the grouping in 2017. Its founding members include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
“India today sets the tone in many regional and global initiatives. It has a good reason for this: it relies on its vast experience and deep knowledge in the field of medicine and health management, including the production of high quality, affordable medicines, equipment and vaccines,” said Norov, the former foreign minister of Uzbekistan.
He said that India has also played an active role in providing assistance to many countries, including the SCO member states, in the supply of medicines and essential drugs.
“India's policy and practice in the international arena in the context of the coronavirus pandemic have fully proved the correctness of the course outlined by Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi at the Bishkek Summit in 2019 - the priority of cooperation in the field of health,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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