India’s signal that it is ready to play a leadership role in the region is earning it the world’s goodwill

India always prides itself as a country that has been the voice of sanity in the comity of nations. Now, it is emerging as a country that is playing a leading role in the democratisation of access to Coronavirus medicines and vaccines in the midst of the worst pandemic in living memory. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often called India the “pharmacy of the world”, the nation’s role as one of the largest producers of vaccines globally came in for high praise from US President Joe Biden and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who termed our vaccine production capacity as the “best asset” that the world has today. This statement comes on the back of the fact that under its “Vaccine Maitri” initiative, India has played the role of the first responder in the neighbourhood. It has not only assisted more than 150 countries through urgent health and medical supplies, New Delhi has also pledged $15 million and 10 lakh vaccine doses to UN health workers under the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), the Vaccine Alliance, and plans to supply one crore doses to Africa. It has also operationalised the COVID-19 Emergency Fund for its neighbours with an initial contribution of $10 million. Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have received our COVID-19 vaccines under grant assistance in sync with India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy. Further expanding its “vaccine diplomacy”, India plans to gift the shots to Oman, 15 Caribbean Community countries, Nicaragua and the Pacific Island states. However, as it needs to look after its economic interests too, particularly as our own economy has been hit by the pandemic, India has begun commercial exports of COVID-19 vaccines and sent two million doses each to Brazil and Morocco. Contractual supplies are also being undertaken in a phased manner and New Delhi has said it will gradually supply to the COVAX facility of the WHO, a global initiative to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, regardless of their income level.

This status as a mature and stable country that is capable of taking on a leadership role in the middle of a global health crisis comes at a time when two other nations in the neighbourhood have riled the world community. While China has been held responsible for the global Coronavirus outbreak and has also raised hackles because of its expansionist policies under Xi Jinping, Pakistan under Imran Khan is being increasingly seen as a failed State which crushes minorities, harbours terror groups and has turned the region into a powder keg. So, in playing a leading role in supplying the coveted Corona shots to the world for free and also commercially, India is not only showcasing its production capacity to the world and ensuring that the international community turns to it in the unfortunate event of a pandemic in future, New Delhi is signalling to the world that it is ready to play a leadership role in the region and, in the process, earning the goodwill of the international community that is just priceless.