The SAARC Secretariat should play an active role in the region’s response to COVID-19, along with “someone in-charge”, according to Sri Lanka’s former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.“I don’t know if it can be handled from Kathmandu alone. If you can, well and good. But you may need another city. It can be Bengaluru, Colombo, any city,” he said on Friday.“This is a good time for a regional cooperation programme. This is a global pandemic without a global leadership. Maybe the region can’t provide leadership for all. But the first virtual meeting of SAARC leaders was good, looking at the background and the problems that are there.”Edited excerpts from an interview:Well before the COVID-19 crisis hit us, you have been an advocate of greater regional cooperation. How can it help at such a time?You see, this is a good time for a regional cooperation programme. This is a global pandemic without a global leadership. Maybe the region can’t provide leadership for all. But the first virtual meeting of SAARC leaders was good, looking at the background and the problems that are there.We must treat this as a humanitarian issue and come up with a regional response. Maybe one or two countries,… Read full this story
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Coronavirus | South Asia needs a humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Ranil Wickremesinghe have 317 words, post on www.thehindu.com at April 24, 2020. This is cached page on Vietnam Dance. If you want remove this page, please contact us.