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Hon. Shri V. Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs had a virtual interaction with the Indian Community in Cote d'Ivoire on 8th December 2021 from 1930 to 2020 hours (IST). The MOS fondly recalled his interaction the community during his visit to Cote d’Ivoire on 6 September 2019.
2. The Minister discussed with the Indian community members as to how we could further strengthen our flourishing bilateral ties with Cote d’Ivoire. The suggestion made by the Indian community were duly noted by the MOS who assured the community members that he would take appropriate follow up action on them.
3. The Minister said that the virtual meeting reflected Government of India’s strong desire to continue to engage with the diaspora in this region. He expressed his appreciation of the community for the achievements and the contributions they make both to Cote d’Ivoire and India.
4. The Minister mentioned that India and Cote d’Ivoire have successfully partnered in the development cooperation sector; in capacity building through the ITEC programme and through scholarships provided by ICCR. The Mahatma Gandhi IT and Biotechnology Centre, inaugurated in June 2019, is a shining example of India’s commitment in the development cooperation sector.
5. The Minister mentioned that new variant of concern ‘Omicron’ had arisen causing renewed concern and anxiety for common people and countries of the world. India was deeply impacted by the second wave of the pandemic earlier this year. The Government swung into swift action soon after and have ramped up medical infrastructure, personnel training and manufacture of Made in India vaccines. India so far administered over 127 crore vaccine doses under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive and currently
our active cases account for less than 1% of the total cases. He also noted with satisfaction that Made in India vaccines have supported vaccination drives including supply of 504,000 Covishield doses under COVAX and donation of another 50,000 Covishield doses to Cote d’Ivoire He also conveyed Government’s willingness to export Covishield and Covaxin doses.
6. The Ministry appealed to the Indian Community to think ahead and to support our flagship schemes be it ‘Digital India’, ‘Skill India’, ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, ‘Start Up India’ or “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. The expertise and exposure of the Indian diaspora could help in accelerating India’s journey to become a US$ 5 trillion economy in the near future and meet the rightful expectations of millions of those who now comprise the “new” and “aspirational” India.
Abidjan
8 December, 2021