Stronger cooperation on COVID assistance stressed at EU-India People's Summit

Brussels, May 5 (AP) Experts, policymakers and practitioners from Europe and India stressed on creating a collaboration romap on Covid assistance during an ongoing eight-day virtual summit.

EU-India People’s Summit, which kickstarted on May 1, came ahe of annual European Union-India Diplomatic Summit scheduled on May 8.

diplomatic summit was intended to take place in Porto, Portugal, but will w be held virtually due to global surge in COVID-cases.

COVID-relief, vaccine and oxygen exports as well as a tre deal are expected to be core topics at diplomatic summit, sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has anunced that he will join summit briefly via video call.

" diplomatic summit is closed to public, and insights from those fighting COVID at ground level can refore t be brought to virtual table. In this regard, experts, policymakers and practitioners from Europe and India came toger for an eight-day People's Summit from May 1 to 8 to create a collaboration romap on assistance post- and during COVID," a press release issued by organisers of EU-India People’s Summit said on Wednesday.

summit is organised by a group of institutions led by Foundation London Story, Indian Solidarity Finland, Liberal Indians - France, in partnership with wider Indian diaspora.

"In past weeks, se diaspora groups have balanced summit planning with mobilising funds for COVID-relief in India and have set up fundraisers and campaigns to ensure oxygen supply to fellow Indians in ir home country," release said.

Explaining objectives of summit, Dr Ritumbra Manuvie from London Story Foundation said, “As diasporic Indians with families and friends in India we are distraught by apocalyptic situation back home.

"Through People’s Summit, which we organised through voluntary work within a frame of only four weeks, we want to send a strong mess of solidarity to people of India. We have neir abandoned our home country r have we stopped thinking about welfare of people of India.” While 15 member states of EU, UK and US have alrey opened assistance through civil protection, members of European Parliament and member states’ parliaments dressing EU-India People's Summit stress need for furr assistance to India in light of COVID pandemic.

High Commissioner for Foreign Relations and Tre of European Parliament Alviina Alametsa in her dress at summit emphasised India's COVAX assistance programme and reiterated a need for assistance to India in this time of need.

Deputy Chairman of Germany’s India Delegation Omid uripour said, “We have always benefitted from India’s immense capacity in medical goods manufacturing. It’s time to us to say Thank You and for Germany and European countries to help with everything we have at our disposal.” Both Alametsa and uripour highlighted that summit responds to urgent need to people-to-people dialogue between India and Europe.

Jayati Ghosh, UN-appointed ecomic viser on international COVID relief, in an interview with organizers argued against “vaccine nationalism and vaccine passports”, stating that “14 rich countries have been grabbing vaccines from Day 1,” and “supply is only artificially limited.” Anand Grover, former UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Health, emphasised that legal system and respect for human rights are inextricably linked with an effective COVID-response.

Alena Kahle, organiser of Summit from Germany, said, “Through appeals me by speakers at Summit, we are writing a rights-oriented People’s Blueprint for EU-India collaboration that we will introduce to European Parliament.” Or speakers at summit include Chair of European-Indian Business Council Soeren Ge, Danish Ambassor to India Freddy Savvne, and Members of Dutch Parliament and European Parliament.

Also expressing concerns over COVID situation and need for cooperative and collaborative global action were former Chairman of National Security visory Board and climate expert Ambassor Shyam Saran, UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Privacy Dr Joseph Cannataci, prominent social scientists and ecomists including Christophe Jaffrelot, Mukulika Banarjee and Marie-Caroline Saglio-Yatzimirsky.

Prominent civil society activists who have dressed summit include Prof Apoorvanand, deep Kaur, Kamayani Swami, Navkiran Natt, Gautam Mody, Nikita Sud, Amir Ullah Khan, Pratik Sinha and N Ram. PTI SCY SCY SCY