EAM S Jaishankar discusses COVID situation, vaccine cooperation with German counterpart

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on August 13 that he h a “good conversation” with his German counterpart Heiko Maas over various issues including coronavirus situation and vaccine development. While COVID-19 cases continue to surge in India with indication of respite from virus, Germany is witnessing a spike after successfully flattening infection curve.

India has recorded almost 2.4 million confirmed cases of coronavirus with over 67,000 cases within last 24 hours, registering biggest single-day spike till date. Meanwhile, Germany has reported more than 220,000 COVID-19 cases with around 10,000 active cases. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said that y talked about vaccine cooperation and reviewed recent developments in Asia and Europe.

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Meeting with Maldives FM

Earlier today, Jaishankar also held a meeting with Foreign Minister of Maldives Abdulla Shahid through video conference, as a part of regular high-level exchanges between India and Maldives. ministry of external affairs (MEA) said in a statement that meeting is an opportunity to take stock of bilateral relations and make some landmark anuncements in context of COVID-19 and overall bilateral partnership. 

During meeting, ministers ted that coronavirus pandemic has t been able to slow down pace of bilateral cooperation. Union Minister anunced that India will implementation of Greater Malé Connectivity Project through a new Line of Credit of $400 million and $100 million grant. 

project will connect Malé with three neighbouring islands - Villingili, Gulhifahu and Thilafushi – through a bridge-and-causeway link spanning 6.7 kilometres. Jaishankar also anunced start of regular cargo ferry service between two countries to boost tre and commerce. He furr ded that India is also starting an “air travel bubble” with Maldives to sustain and promote dynamic people-to-people ties between two countries.

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