Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that the pandemic has presented an opportunity to reshape the world order.
Speaking at the inaugural session of Raisina Dialogue 2021, he said: “We must create systems that addresses the problems of today and challenges of tomorrow. And we must think of the entire humanity and not merely of those who are on our side of the borders. Humanity as a whole must be at the center of our thinking and action.”
The Prime Minister emphasised that India has tried to protect its citizens from the pandemic while trying to support the pandemic response efforts of others. “During this pandemic, in our own humble way, within our own limited resources, we in India have tried to walk the talk. We have tried to protect our own 1.3 billion citizens from the pandemic. At the same time, we have also tried to support pandemic response efforts of others,” he said.
He called for collective response to defeat the pandemic. “We understand fully, that mankind will not defeat the pandemic unless all of us, everywhere, regardless of the colour of our passports, come out of it. That is why, this year, despite many constraints, we have supplied vaccines to over 80 countries,” he said.
According to the Prime Minister, although, humanity has faced many infectious diseases the world today is underprepared to handle the Covid pandemic. “Our scientist, researchers and industry have answered some questions. Many solutions have emerged and many more are yet to come,” he said.
Modi urged all participating countries in the dialogue to emerge as a powerful voice for a human-centric approach, “ Elsewhere while we may be used to having Plan A and plan B, there is no Planet B, only planet Earth. And so, we must remember that we hold this planet merely as trustees for our future generations,” he said.
