PM Modi, Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau discuss vaccine production, farmers’ protest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau spoke over telephone on Wednesday. According to official statements from both sides, the discussion dealt with bilateral and global efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccine production, multilateral cooperation, and the “recent protests” by farmers in India which has received top-level support from Canada.

In a social media message, Mr. Modi expressed happiness over the phone call and said, “India would do its best to facilitate supplies of COVID-19 vaccines.” He also informed that the discussion dealt with collaboration on “other important issues like climate change and the global economic recovery”.

A statement from Mr. Trudeau’s office highlighted the need to “work together” on ensuring global access to vaccines, saying, “Prime Minister Trudeau and Prime Minister Modi spoke about India’s significant efforts in promoting vaccine production and supply, which have provided vital support to countries around the world.”

The discussion between the two leaders came as India continued to airlift vaccines to middle and low income countries. On Wednesday, Barbados became a recipient of a significant consignment of the Covishield vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India, Pune.

‘Free and open Indo-Pacific’

The Canadian statement said that the two leaders also spoke about the “common interests in free and open Indo-Pacific”.

“The leaders discussed Canada and India’s commitment to democratic principles, recent protests, and the importance of resolving issues through dialogue. They underlined the need to work collectively in rebuilding a more sustainable and resilient global economy,” declared the statement from Ottawa.

The mention of the protests by the farmers in India is consistent with support from several Canadian public figures to the ongoing agitation. Jagmeet Singh, one of the coalition partners of Mr. Trudeau’s government, has been a strong critic of the new Indian farm laws as well as the Indian government’s strategy to deal with the movement.

Mr. Singh reiterated his criticism of the Indian farm laws on Wednesday saying “the [Indian] government is bringing in bills that will make it even harder for farmers to make a decent living.”

The government of India has been critical of the support from the Canadian functionaries to the farmers’ protests. Last December South Block summoned High Commissioner Nadir Patel after Mr. Trudeau expressed support for Indian farmers’ right to peaceful protests. India had referred to the Canadian statements as “ill-informed and unwarranted”.