Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls for united global efforts to defeat COVID-19 pandemic

New Delhi, Apr 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday stressed the need for united global efforts to deal with the coronavirus crisis, saying mankind will not be able to defeat it unless everyone comes out of it.

In an address at the Raisina Dialogue, the Prime Minister said India tried to protect its 1.3 billion nationals from COVID-19, and, at the same time, tried to support pandemic response efforts of others.

"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 at the conference, held virtually.

The Prime Minister further said, "We will continue to share our experiences, our expertise and also our resources with humanity in the fight against the pandemic."

While we may be used to having 'Plan A' and 'Plan B' but there is no Planet B and only Planet Earth, he said and added so, we must remember that we hold this planet merely as trustees for our future generations. The Prime Minister also said that during this pandemic, in our own humble way, within our own limited resources, we in India have tried to walk the talk.

Organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a think-tank, in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, Raisina Dialogue is India's premier conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, and its sixth edition is being held from April 13 to 16.