Coronavirus battle: India coordinating with US, China and others

New Delhi: India is coordinating with both the United States and China without getting drawn into any geopolitical rivalry, along with accepting contributions from individuals and organisations abroad, to tide over the Covid-19 crisis, said people aware of the matter.
While the foreign ministers of India and the US have spoken twice since last month for effective coordination to contain the spread of the virus, India is coordinating with China for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, they said.

India is also in touch with the other three P-5 countries for coordinated approach to combat Covid-19. Besides, the Indian PM has spoken to all key leaders in West Asia, which houses thousands of Indians, and exchanged ideas on sharing best practices against containing the contagious viral infection.

On Tuesday, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his counterpart Mike Pompeo discussed ways to strengthen global pharmaceutical, healthcare and manufacturing supply chains. The issue of extension of visas of Indians was also raised by Jaishankar. He asked the US to consider extending the visas of Indian students and professionals in the country as the fast spreading Covid-19 had made travelling difficult. The two ministers also discussed peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, besides the Afghanistan situation.

Indian ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, on Monday said that India and the US were maintaining strong and robust cooperation of medical specialists in the fight against the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Wednesday marked 70 years of creation of diplomatic ties between India and China. President Ram Nath Kovind and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, exchanged messages of felicitation on the occasion. China-India relations have now reached a new starting point with new opportunities to be grasped, Xi said in his message. In his message to PM Narendra Modi, Premier Li Keqiang said that a relationship defined by friendship, cooperation and mutual benefit will serve the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples, and benefit Asia and the world at large

Separately, the people cited earlier said that India is not seeking funds from foreign governments under the PM-Cares Fund set up by the government to help combat Covid-19. Referring to the Covid cell under the external affairs ministry, they said it has handled 3,300 telephone calls and 2,500 emails with regard to the crisis.