(Chicago, IL: June 28th, 2020):
â€œI am proud of the achievements and contributions of the Indian-origin physicians across the world in the battle against COVID-19,â€ Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Guest at first ever Virtual Global Summit of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) on Saturday, June 27th.
In his brief remarks, Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI thanked Prime Minister Modi for his leadership of India and making India a word leader. The First Ever Virtual Summer Summit by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) is being held from June 16thth to 28th, 2020.

During his address on Indo-US Relationship During the Pandemic and the Role of AAPI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told members of the powerful and the largest ethnic Medical Association in the United States, â€œI have closely followed your contributions, sacrificing your life to save that of others. Some of have done the ultimate sacrifice of giving up youir own lives at the service of others. Your will be remembered for forever.â€
Acknowledging the sacrifices of Indian Origin physicians, Modi said, â€œI want to express my sincere gratitude for being the warriors who are committed to save the lives of so many during the pandemic.â€
The Prime Minister said that due to lockdown, many initiatives taken by the Government and a people driven fight, India is much better placed than many other nations and Indiaâ€™s recovery rate is rising. Due to this the severity of the virus is less than anticipated.
Prime Minister Modi shared with AAPI statistics of various countries. Modi said India had performed much better in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). "As against the death rate of 350 individuals per million in the US and over 600 per million in European nations like the UK, Italy and Spain, the rate of fatalities in India is less than 12," he said.
India defied the fears of the world's topmost experts in this regard, according to Modi. He said that lakhs of villages, home to 85 crore people, remain almost untouched by Coronavirus. The prime minister attributed this to the support from the people of the country. "Rural parts of the country have largely remained untouched from this pandemic," he said.
India's fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic is driven by its people, Modi said, attributing the "success" against the pandemic to the implementation the nationwide lockdown in its initial phase.
Without people's cooperation, Modi said, the success would not have been possible in the world's second-highest populated country -- with high density, where social gathering is a norm of life, large religious and political gatherings are regular, and large-scale interstate migration, India has been able to save the lives of thousands and lakhs of its citizens because of the timely lockdown, he told AAPI members.
Modi said COVID-19 had been used as an opportunity to work towards making the country self-reliant. Modi said the COVID-19 pandemic had been used as an opportunity to improve the healthcare facilities. "For instance, at the start of the coronavirus, there was only one COVID-19 testing lab. Now there are 1,000, he said.
The prime minister underlined that India, which imported most of its personnel protection equipment (PPE) kits at the start of the pandemic, was now almost self-reliant and in a position to export them. The country is making more than 30 lakh N95 masks per week. More than 50,000 new ventilators are being made available to the healthcare sector, all made inside the country, he added. â€œStay safe and well and continue to contribute to health of the world. Stay healthier and stronger,â€ he told AAPI members.
Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu was introduced by Dr. Seema Arora, Chair of AAPIâ€™s Board of Trustees, as â€œone of the most experienced Indian diplomats on US affairs, having served in the Indian Mission in Washington DC in various capacities and at the Permanent Mission of India to United Nations, New York.â€

Calling the Indian American Physicians as the â€œreal heroesâ€ Ambassador Sandhu â€œYou are the real heroes who have risked your lives and have been out to assist others." There is a widespread recognition of their contributions in the US, he added. â€œLawmakers in the US appreciate your contributions. AAPI members have greatly contributed risking their own lives.â€
Expressing his deepest condolences to AAPI and the families of those Physicins, who had lost their lives, the Indian Envoy thanked AAPI for â€œyour support to the Indian Embassy helping Indian students stranded here due to the pandemic. Your online Health Desk has helped many Indians in the US affected by the pandemic.â€
Praising AAPI for the several charitable works in India, Ambassador Sandhu, said, â€œIndia and the US are strategic partnersâ€ and pointed to collaboration between the two nations on cutting edge medical research in healthcare sector and science. With inexpensive medical supply to 127 countries, India has become â€œa reliable partner in global supply chain of all healthcare needs.â€

Representing the interests of the over 100,000 physicians of Indian origin, AAPI members serve every 7th patient in the United States and every 5th patient in rural and inner cities across the nation. Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, will assume as the incoming President of AAPI on July 12th along with Dr. Sajani Shah, Chair of AAPIâ€™s BOT, and his Executive Committee consisting of Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, President-Elect, Dr. Ravi Kolli, Vice President, Dr. Amit Chakrabarty, Secretary, and Dr. Satish Kathula, Treasurer of AAPI. For more details, please visit: www.aapiusa.org

Ajay Ghosh
Chief Editor, www.theunn.com
Media Coordinator, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin
Phone # (203) 583.6750

PM Modi congratulates AAPI members during virtual summit