VAX REACH PUTS INDIA ON GOOD FOOTING: EXPERTS
NEW DELHI: India may be in a unique position in terms of immunity compared to other countries with fewer proportions of people vaccinated or infected in the past, according to experts.
“There is no reason to panic as Indians are well placed immunologically because of the high sero prevalence...that could be due to natural infection or vaccine-derived,” said Dr Amita Jain, professor and head of microbiology department, King George’s Medical University in Lucknow.
India and China cannot simultaneously have a “tense, high-friction border” and great relations in all other spheres, especially after Beijing violated clear cut commitments in two agreements on not massing forces on the frontier, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday.
Participating in a virtual conversation at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Jaishankar listed India’s three top foreign policy priorities as focusing on countries in the extended neighbourhood, including Central and West Asia; good relations with big power shaping the world order to advance the country’s interests; and developing a larger footprint for India.
Jaishankar, however, listed his number one priority as national security, which he put above all considerations in diplomacy.
The challenges related to Afghanistan outlined in UN Security Council resolution 2593, which was passed two weeks after the Taliban takeover in mid-august, continue to be “live concerns” and justify the prudence displayed by India, which has been very careful in its assessments regarding the war-torn country, he said during a wide-ranging discussion.
Jaishankar said two agreements with China contained no ambiguity on the issue of bringing forces to the border, as everything was laid down in “cold print”. He added, “There were very, very clear-cut commitments not to mass forces on the border and those commitments stand violated as of 2020 spring.”
He was referring to the standoff in Ladakh sector of the Line