Indian Prime Minister Modi Calls For New Era Of Globalization To Tackle COVID-19 Pandemic

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th March, 2020) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a new era of globalization to tackle the ongoing epidemiological and economic threat posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, according to an Indian Ministry of External Affairs statement released after Thursday's G20 extraordinary leaders' summit.

"PM [the prime minister] called on the Leaders to help usher in a new globalization, for the collective well-being of humankind and have multilateral fora focus on promoting the shared interests of humanity," the statement read.

Modi thanked Saudi Arabia's King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for chairing the meeting, which took place via video conference, and called on G20 leaders to continue to cooperate and strengthen international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO).

Additionally, G20 nations must "work together to reduce economic hardships resulting from COVID-19 particularly for the economically weak," the statement read.

In a joint statement released after the conclusion of the summit, G20 leaders pledged to inject $5 trillion into the global economy to combat the economic and financial impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Additionally, G20 leaders have also tasked their countries' respective health ministries with preparing a list of urgent actions to combat the global pandemic before a ministerial meeting in April. WHO has also been asked to study the gaps in pandemic preparedness across the world, in order to shape future policy.

As of Thursday, the Indian Health Ministry has confirmed 649 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak, with 13 deaths. Maharashtra is the most affected state, as 124 people have tested positive for the disease in the western peninsular region of the country.