Kathmandu, June 13. French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the ease of supply of vaccines and raw materials to India and South Africa.

The President has also supported India and South Africa’s proposal of temporarily lifting the covid vaccine patents. He said that he will raise the issue at the G-7 summit.

Macron  said, “India, and in particular the Serum Institute of India, has been blocked in its production by export restrictions on the ingredients needed to produce these vaccines from certain G7 economies. These restrictions must be lifted both so that India can produce more for itself and so that it can very quickly supply the Africans in particular, who are very dependent on its production”.

He said that intellectual property rights must never be an obstacle for countries to not get access to vaccines. At the same time, he mentioned the need for fair remuneration for innovation and respect for intellectual property.

“It is an initial proposal from India and South Africa that we have reworked, that we still want to work with the WHO, the WTO, our partners. But I hope that it will precisely allow an agreement during this G7,” he said.

Leaders of G7 countries France, Germany, Japan, the UK, the US, Italy and Canada are holding a summit in the British resort of Cornwall from June 11-13 with a focus on exploring ways to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.