India-Germany resolve to boost cooperation in combating COVID-19 pandemic

New Delhi, June 27: India and Germany held virtual Foreign Secretary level consultations yesterday. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and State Secretary of the German Federal Foreign Office Miguel Berger discussed bilateral cooperation in various areas and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.

 

 

The two sides took stock of the extensive cooperation in addressing the challenges of COVID-19, including supply of medicines, equipment and technology. They agreed to advance the various areas of bilateral cooperation and initiate consultations in the context of India’s upcoming membership of the UN Security Council (2021-22) and G20 Presidency (2022) and Germany’s present membership of the UN Security Council and forthcoming Presidency of the European Union.

 

Germany has become the second G-7 nation to offer emergency Covid aid to help the urban poor and vulnerable groups such as migrant workers in India following the Covid pandemic. Germany has committed an emergency support measure of 460 million Euros (Rs 3,893 crore) to support India’s move towards a systematic social protection scheme.

 

The loan aims to develop systems and processes for coordinated action across ministries and states, balance social assistance and social insurance programmes and allow for portability of ‘ in kind benefits’ such as the “One Nation, One Ration Card’’ scheme. France had earlier committed 200 million Euros (about Rs 1,700 crore) to boost the PM Garib Kalyan Yojna. India has already borrowed $ 2.25 billion (about Rs 16,000 crore) from two China-led multilateral banks and about $ 2 billion (about Rs 14,000 crore) from the West-led World Bank and Asian Development Bank to provide relief to the vulnerable sections.