New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that the world faces an unprecedented challenge due to COVID-19 and there is a need to go beyond orthodoxies. He called for fresh ideas, more imagination and greater openness.
As global relationships alter, we too need to take stock. Security, connectivity, economy and politics will jostle for space in your discussions. As we come out of pandemic, let us be clear on one fact- "The world will never be the same again." That means we need new thinking, fresh ideas, more imagination and greater openness", the minister said while addressing the 6th Roundtable meeting of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks.
We need to go beyond orthodoxies, whether of trade, politics or security. These are domains that all of you debate regularly and I am sure today you will have a very productive discussion, he added.
He further noted that the impact of the coronavirus has been beyond the collective imagination and the world faces an unprecedented challenge.
"None of us has seen a crisis of this proportion before, or indeed uncertainty of this level. How, when and with what result this pandemic will end is still a very open question. Even after several months, the true extent of its destruction in terms of losses of lives and livelihood remains unclear", he said.
On the contrary, the impact of the Coronavirus has been beyond our collective imagination. Current estimates put the cumulative loss in the range of USD 5.8-8.8 trillion or approximately 6.5-9.7% of the global GDP. The contraction of the world economy being predicted will surely be the largest since the Great Depression, the minister points out.
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As per the latest report, as a many as 22,556,346 people around the globe have been found infected with COVID-19, while more than 15,288,855 have recovered, 789,969 have died so far.
The minister further highlighted the relations between India and the ASEAN countries and said that there is a need for the international community to work together much more sincerely in search of collective solutions.
He says, "the contemporary relationship between India and the ASEAN was founded very much on our shared interest in globalization. In Asia at least, the ASEAN were pioneers of that process and helped bring India into it. But as it comes under stress today, we need to go beyond its economic and even social definitions".
"Whether it is climate change, terrorism or indeed pandemics, these are not challenges where those affected have a choice. The limitations of purely national responses or sometimes living in denial have become evident. It, therefore, underlines the need for the international community to work together much more sincerely in search of collective solutions", he stated.
ASEAN and India relationship has evolved from the Look East Policy enunciated in the early 1990s which led India to become a Sectoral Partner of ASEAN in 1992, a Dialogue Partner in 1996 a Summit level Partner in 2002. Ever since then the bond between the two has been growing stronger.
During the meeting, Jaishankar also urged the think tanks especially of India, to push the envelope even more in the present world situation and work for hand in hand with the Government.
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