External affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will interact with heads of Indian mission across the world to keep them posted about the steps India is taking against the spread of Sars-Cov-2 infection and to shore up confidence of the diplomats on the frontline.
The interaction, being held via video conference, will begin at 4.45 pm (IST), people familiar with the development said.
The basic purpose is to interact with the heads of mission, brief them about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech as well as ask the diplomats on the frontline to remain vigilant, the people mentioned above said. Jaishankar is part of the group of ministers set up to handle the Indian response to the virus.
A South Block official said the foreign minister’s video conference was also designed to bring in a personal touch to the ministry’s interaction with the heads of missions who face unique challenges in operating in foreign countries at a sensitive time like this.
“It has been a tough time for the diplomats in many countries”, the official mentioned above said. This is particularly the case in countries such as China, Iran, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom that have had a large number of coronavirus, or Covid-19, cases, the official added.
The Sars-Cov-2 virus originated in China’s Wuhan where there were efforts to cover up the outbreak in the initial period before it seemed to get out of hand. By the time the world got a grip on the highly-contagious disease in China, it had travelled beyond its borders.
Nearly 80,000 people have been infected in China alone; over 3,245 died. In countries that didn’t act in the initial stages, it has spread rapidly. Italy, which reports the second highest number of cases (41,000), has reported more deaths (3,400) than China.
By taking proactive measures, India has been able to restrict the spread of the disease for now. In his televised address to the nation, PM Modi had, however, echoed his government’s approach when he asked people to guard against complacency.
He had also underscored that the disease, which had impacted the world more than the two world wars, would also hurt countries and the global economy as well. Many other world leaders have also expressed similar concerns about the risk posed by the disease that originated in China.
It is in context of this assessment that questions are also being raised about the silence of the United Nations Security Council on formulating a global response to the containing spread of Sars-Cov-2. Incidentally, China is the president of the UN Security Council this month.
But other global groupings have been working. Work is on to call for a G-20 meeting via video conference to put a global response in place
