NEW DELHI / NEW YORK (TIP): Australian PM Scott Morrison offered all help during a conversation with PM Narendra Modi but did not relent on a travel ban that has stranded at least 9,000 Australians in India, including cricketers, who had come to participate in the now-suspended Indian Premier League.

During his telephonic conversation with Scott Morrison, May 7, PM Narendra Modi conveyed his appreciation for the prompt and generous support extended by Australia for India’s fight against the second Covid wave, said a PMO statement. The two leaders agreed on the need to ensure an affordable and equitable access to vaccines and medicines for containing Covid-19 globally, it said.

The Australian government, for the first time has imposed a temporary ban on its citizens from returning home if they have spent time in India up to 14 days before flying back. Those who attempt to return via third countries will be prosecuted with five years of imprisonment or a fine of nearly $ 50,000. During his telephonic conversation with Morrison, the PM conveyed his appreciation for the prompt and generous support extended by Australia for India’s fight against the second Covid wave, said a Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) statement.

The two leaders agreed on the need to ensure an affordable and equitable access to vaccines and medicines for containing Covid-19 globally, it said. “We agreed on the importance of ensuring affordable and equitable access to vaccines and medicines, and discussed possible initiatives in this regard,” said the PM.