Vardhan visited NIH too.
India’s Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, had a busy few days in Washington, DC, on an official visit.
Vardhan attended the inaugural White House Arctic Science Ministerial in the Capitol on September 28, and later attended a reception at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where he met leaders of delegations of over 20 countries.
At the Arctic Science Ministerial, signed the Joint Statement released by the White House, according to a press release.
In his remarks, Vardhan emphasized the significance of environment and climate change in the Arctic region and its impact on Indian monsoon and expressed India’s readiness to enhance cooperation on Arctic science and research.
On the sidelines of Arctic Science Ministerial, Vardhan had a meeting with Jo Johnson, Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, United Kingdom, and discussed bilateral programs. He also had a meeting with Roe Isaksen, Norwegian Minister for Education and Research and discussed the collaborations in areas of Arctic and Antarctic science and climate change. He also extended an invite to the Norwegian minister to visit India.
On September 29, Vardhan visited Lockheed Martin Global Vision Center (GVC), a center for research and innovation, and had meetings with Rodney A. Makoske, Senior Vice President and exchanged letters to extend the India Innovation Growth Program (IIGP) involving DST, Lockheed Martin and TATA Trusts. The IIGP 2.0 will support ‘Make in India’ and ‘Start-up India’ initiatives with focus on social and technological innovations.
Vardhan also visited the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and was apprised on the activities of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) by eminent scientist Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, NIAID. Advancement of candidate vaccines for TB, dengue, RSV and chickungunya under bilateral Vaccine Development Program were also discussed. He had fruitful interactions during his tour of Vaccine Research Center and Clinical Research Center.
On September 30, Vardhan co-chaired bilateral India-US S&T Joint Commission Meeting along with Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science & Technology and reviewed the progress under five Joint Working Groups for S&T cooperation between two countries.
The Commission agreed to add new areas of S&T collaboration like agriculture science, ocean wave modeling and advance manufacturing. Techno-entrepreneurship and innovation will be the center piece of future collaboration.
Vardhan also had interactions with some members of the local Diaspora involved in the science and technology arena, organized by Embassy of India and Indo-US Brain Trust.