India’s Vaccine capacity of India is the best asset the world has today: UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday (January 28) stated that India’s vaccine production capacity is the “best asset” the world has to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The UN chief also called on India to play a major role in the global COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

The UN Secretary-General also expressed hope that India will have all instruments necessary to play a major role in ensuring a global vaccination campaign becomes possible as the world fights the pandemic.

I know that in India there’s a very high level of production of India-developed vaccines. We strongly hope that India will play a major role in a global vaccination campaign,” Guterres said while addressing reporters in New York.

He was responding to a question by PTI during a press briefing on Thursday on India helping countries around the world in the fight against the global pandemic by supplying COVID-19 vaccines.

Guterres’ comments came at a time when India has been gifting lakhs of COVID-19 vaccine doses to multiple countries. On January 28, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that India has gifted over 55 lakh doses to its neighboring countries and several of those in its extended neighborhood.

On January 28, India sent 5 lakh vaccine doses to Sri Lanka and 1 lakh doses to Bahrain as part of grants assistance.