Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Bill Gates
My conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi left me more optimistic than
ever about the progress that India is making in health, development, and
climate: Bill Gates
Prime Minister Modi believes that Co-WIN is a model for the world, and I agree:
Bill Gates
India is showing what’s possible when we invest in innovation : Bill Gates
The Prime
MInister Narendra Modi met Bill Gates on Friday in New Delhi.
In response to a
tweet by Gates, where he shared his ‘Note’ on his recent visit to India, the
Prime Minister tweeted:
“Delighted to meet @BillGates and
have extensive discussions on key issues. His humility and passion to create a
better as well as more sustainable planet are clearly visible.”
In his ‘dispatch’, Gates said
“I’ve been in India this week, learning about the innovative
work going on here in health, climate
change, and other crucial areas. At a time when the world has so many
challenges, it’s inspiring to visit a dynamic and creative place like India.”
Terming his
meeting with the Prime Minister the highlight of his visit, Gates said “Prime
Minister Modi and I have stayed in touch, especially about developing COVID-19
vaccines and investing in India’s health systems. India has an amazing ability
to manufacture lots of safe, effective, and affordable vaccines, some of them
supported by the Gates Foundation. Vaccines produced in India have saved
millions of lives during the pandemic and prevented other diseases around the
world.”
He dwelled on India's handling
of the pandemic and said “in addition to producing new life saving tools,
India also excels at delivering them—its public health system has delivered
more than 2.2 billion doses of COVID vaccines. They created an open-source
platform called Co-WIN, which allowed people to
schedule billions of vaccine appointments and delivered digital certifications
for those who were vaccinated. This platform is now being expanded to support
India’s universal immunization program. Prime Minister Modi believes that
Co-WIN is a model for the world, and I agree.”
Bill Gates praised India’s
stride in digital payments and said “India was also able to transfer emergency
digital payments to 300 million people, including 200 million women, during the
pandemic. This was only possible because India has made financial inclusion a
priority, investing in a digital ID system (called Aadhaar) and creating
innovative platforms for digital banking. It’s a reminder that financial
inclusion is a fantastic investment.”
Mr Gates ‘dispatch’ also
talks about India’s achievements such as PM Gatishakti Masterplan, G20
presidency, education, innovation, fighting diseases and push to Millets.
Mr Gates concluded “My
conversation with the Prime Minister left me more optimistic than ever about
the progress that India is making in health, development, and climate. The
country is showing what’s possible when we invest in innovation. I hope India
will continue this progress and share its innovations with the world.”