Jaishankar raises Covid quarantine issue during his meeting with UK counterpart

New York, Sep 21: India raised the issue of an "early resolution" of the Covid quarantine issue and discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the developments in the Indo-Pacific with the UK government.

"Pleased to meet new UK Foreign Secretary @trussliz. Discussed the progress of Roadmap 2030. Appreciated her contribution on the trade side. Exchanged views on developments in Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific. Urged early resolution of quarantine issue in mutual interest," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted.

The meeting in New York between Jaishankar and Truss came the same day as the UK announced new Covid-related travel restrictions that sparked sharp criticism and concerns in India.

According to new rules, Indian travellers who have received both doses of the Covishield vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) will be considered unvaccinated and will have to undergo self-isolation for 10 days.

From October 4, the current "traffic light system" of red, amber, green countries based on levels of Covid risk will be replaced by one red list of countries.

The scrapping of the amber list, which is what India is currently on, means a reduced PCR test cost burden only for some travellers.

The expanded list of countries whose vaccines are recognised in the UK does not include India. It means Indians vaccinated with Covishield, the SII-produced Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, would be required to undergo compulsory PCR tests as well as self-isolation.

After his meeting with Hussein, Jaishankar tweeted that he had "a cordial meeting with FM Fuad Hussein of Iraq. Discussed our historical ties, economic, energy and development cooperation linkages. Exchanged views on regional and global issues."