New Delhi: Emphasizing that coronavirus pandemic would not only pose a great risk to the health and well-being of humanity but also severely impact the global economy, India on Tuesday called for need to reform the multilateral systems.
While speaking at the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations through video conference convened by Russia as the current BRICS Chair on Tuesday, Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar said that the reformed multilateralism was the way forward.
He referred to the centrality of development and growth in the global agenda.
“The minister emphasized that the pandemic is not only posing a great risk to the health and well-being of humanity but is also severely impacting global economy and output by disruption of global trade and supply chains. Economic activity across sectors has been negatively impacted leading to loss of jobs and livelihoods,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
He also emphasized that “we need to provide support to businesses, especially MSMEs, to tide over the crisis and ensure livelihoods are not lost. The minister pointed out that the efficacy of traditional medicine systems to strengthen immunity should be recognized and that BRICS should support these efforts,” it added.
In his remarks, Mr Jaishankar thanked the Russian Foreign Minister for convening this extraordinary meeting.
He noted that BRICS, which brings together almost 42 percent of global population, with impressive growth, investment and trade share, has an important role to play in shaping the global economic and political architecture.
The video conference was convened in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The discussions were mainly centred around COVID-19 crisis, its impact and BRICS response.
The BRICS Foreign Ministers also discussed the activities to be undertaken under Russian BRICS Chairmanship in 2020.
Mr Jaishankar also highlighted the initiatives and various decisive steps taken early by India in the wake of the pandemic including through Aarogya Setu Citizen App and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package.
He apprised the BRICS Foreign Ministers about the initiative to coordinate efforts to contain COVID-19 in South Asia, and creation of COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund by the SAARC countries.
“India is providing pharma assistance to nearly 85 nations, including many countries in Africa, on a grant basis, to support their response to the pandemic,” he said.
India also reaffirmed its strong support for Russian BRICS Chairmanship in 2020 and the overall theme of "BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth”.
A virtual meeting of BRICS Health Officials is envisaged on COVID-19 pandemic on May 7 to take the discussion forward in a focused and purposeful manner.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chaired the meeting. Mr Jaishankar represented India, Brazlian Foreign Minister Amb Ernesto Araújob, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa Grace Naledi Pandor represented the respective BRICS countries.
