AMN / WEB DESK
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity to reshape the world order and to reorient the thinking. He stressed on the need to create systems that address the problems of today and challenges of tomorrow.
Inaugurating the sixth edition of the Raisina Dialogue virtually, Mr Modi said, mankind will not defeat the pandemic unless everyone, everywhere, regardless of the colour of their passports, come out of it. He said, keeping this in mind, despite many constraints, India has supplied vaccines to over 80 countries. The Prime Minister said, during this pandemic, India have tried to walk the talk, tried to protect its 1.3 billion citizens and also support pandemic response efforts of others.
He also asked global leaders to have cooperation to address problems like hunger and poverty. Mr Modi also highlighted the importance to protect the planet earth saying while people may be used to having Plan A and Plan B, but there is no Planet B.
In his speech, Mr Modi said, this edition of Raisina Dialogue takes a place at a watershed moment in human history. He said, a global pandemic has been ravaging the world for over a year. The last such global pandemic was a century ago. Mr Modi said, scientists, researchers and industry has answered some questions what is the virus, how does it spread, how can we slow it down. The Prime Minister said, for over a year now, the best minds of our societies have been engaged in battling this pandemic.
President of Rwanda Paul Kagame said, COVID19 is also a crisis of international cooperation as access to vaccines is highly unequal. He said, without India’s production capacity and spirit of solidarity, Africa would not have received many vaccines. Mr Kagame said it demonstrates the possibility of more private sector cooperation between India and Africa. He said, knowledge, innovation and the green economy will still be the key drivers of growth after the pandemic.
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen said, without private and public cooperation, the green industrial revolution cannot happen. She said, we must reform, transform and perform and join forces across the globe.
Mr Kagame and Ms Frederiksen addressed the inaugural session as Chief Guests.
The Event is jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation. The theme for the 2021 Edition is “#ViralWorld: Outbreaks, Outliers and Out of Control”.