US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday announced that his country will provide $25 million to support India's vaccination programme as the two sides held wide-ranging talks on further boosting cooperation in dealing with the pandemic and its adverse impacts.
At a media briefing after talks with Blinken, External Affairs minister S. Jaishankar thanked the US for its “truly exceptional” support to India during the second wave of the pandemic and for keeping the supply chain for raw material open for vaccine production in India.
Jaishankar also said that the travel challenges resulting from the coronavirus pandemic were also discussed.
Separately, at an event in the US embassy, Blinken said by the end of August, the mission plans to conduct 68,000 student visa interviews which would be the “highest” in years.
He said that there are few relationships that are more vital than the one between India and the United States and that his country will not forget the assistance provided to it by New Delhi in the early stages of the pandemic.
In a tweet, Blinken announced supporting India's Covid-19 vaccination programme with an additional $25 million from the US government through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
