New Delhi, May 4:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the novel coronavirus pandemic had exposed the limitations of the current global order and post the pandemic, the world needs a new template of globalization based on fairness and equality.
In his speech to the Non-Aligned Movement’s virtual meet on the covid-19 crisis, Modi called for international institutions that are more representative of the world today. He also urged the need to “promote human welfare and not focus on economic growth alone”.
Without naming Pakistan, Modi also slammed the country whose president Arif Alvi had earlier on Monday used the NAM platform to accuse India of inciting hate speeches against India’s Muslims and denying them treatment in the times of the pandemic.
The meeting was being convened at the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, in his capacity as the current chair of the Non-Aligned Movement. This is the first time that Modi was taking part in a NAM summit-level meeting after taking office in 2014. The prime minister had not attended the NAM summits in 2016 and 2019. Modi’s participation in the NAM meet follows his participation in meetings with South Asian countries and the G20 developed and developing nations on the novel coronavirus disease.
Modi began his speech by offering condolences to people who had lost loved ones to the pandemic which first surfaced in China in December. Till now, it has sickened 3.5 million people and caused the deaths of almost 250,000 in 185 countries and regions.
India, he said, accounted for a sixth of humanity and was a “developing country” and a “free society”.
“During this crisis we have shown how democracy, discipline and decisiveness can come together to create a genuine people’s movement,” he said referring to a more 40 day lockdown period imposed to arrest the spread of the disease in a country of 1.3 billion people.
“India’s civilization sees the whole world as one family as we care for our own citizens we are also extending help to other countries,” Modi said referring to extending help to countries by sending medicines like the anti-malarial hydroxylchloroquine (HCQ) and paracetamol. In this process, India had sent medicines to 123 partner countries including 59 members of NAM. “We are active in global in global efforts to develop remedies and vaccines,” he said.
Closer home, India has also coordinated with its immediate neighbours, sharing its expertise through online training sessions, he said.
Without naming Pakistan, Modi said: “Even as world fights covid-19, some people are busy spreading other deadly viruses such as terrorism, such as fake news and doctored videos to divide communities and countries” referring to recent attempts by Pakistan to inflame tensions in India.
“But today I want to focus only on the positives on what we as a movement can do together to fight this health crisis,” Modi said.
“Covid-19 has shown us the limitations of the existing international system. In the post covid world, we need a new template of globalization based on fairness equality and humanity,” he said. “We need international institutions that are more representative of today’s world. We need to promote human welfare and not focus on economic growth alone,” he added.
He called to NAM countries to stand together to ensure that the international community and the World Health Organisation focus on building health capacities in developing countries. Equitable, affordable and timely access to health products and technology for all was the need of the hour, Modi said.
“We should develop a platform for all NAM countries to pool experience, best practices and crises management protocols, research and resources,” Modi said adding: “Let us work as partners for inclusive global response.”
Analysts welcomed Modi’s participation in the NAM meeting on Monday.
“When the UN Security Council unable to reach any consensus on what needs to be done (on tackling covid-19), the G7 group of industrialised nations too cant seem to agree on any course of action and the G20 too seems unable to move forward on the matter, I would say this meeting is a good development,” said former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal.
“The NAM is a good platform for India to assume a leadership role,” he said noting that most of the NAM countries were developing countries. India, he said, had been pretty active in sending help in the form of medicines to many countries across the world. There is also a sense of concern about what could happen in covid-19 strikes Africa where the healthcare systems are not robust. India has been engaging African countries as part of its foreign policy as it has been reaching out to small island countries in the Pacific and the Caribbean, Sibal said.
“The US and Europe are currently in disarray,” Sibal said pointing to the toll the pandemic had taken on both. Against this backdrop, “the NAM countries would be looking up to India to take the lead in forging some kind of a collective response to the pandemic that the UN has so far proved unable to do so,” Sibal said.
The NAM represents the biggest grouping of countries outside the United Nations, comprising 120 developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America.Fifty three countries in Africa, 39 in Asia and 26 in Latin America and the Carribean are members of NAM. Countries like Argentina, Brazil and China are among the 17 observers at NAM summits. The African Union, the United Nations and Organization of the Islamic Conference are among the 10 international groupings or organizations that are also observers.
