New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) The coronavirus pandemic has brought out the best and the worst in countries, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Wednesday, noting that while most reacted in a spirit of collaborative cooperation, some retreated into a shell in pursuit of their narrow interests.

Observing that the pandemic has left virtually no country unaffected, the vice president said it has impacted societies and economies in different ways.

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India did not forget to help other countries with items like pharmaceuticals during the COVID-19 health emergency though New Delhi was itself battling the pandemic, Naidu said.

Addressing the 18th meeting of the governing body of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) via video, the vice president said India has been leading from the front in the global effort to counter the pandemic. "We are also in the vanguard of research endeavours to develop a vaccine and expect good news soon," he observed.

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Naidu is the ex-officio president of the ICWA.

According to an official statement, he said the pandemic has brought out the best and the worst in countries. "While most have reacted in a spirit of collaborative cooperation, some have retreated into a shell in pursuit of their narrow interests," Naidu said in the statement.

He, however, did not name any country, as per the statement.

The vice president was of the view that the role and relevance of international relations and foreign policy to the lives of ordinary Indians has been re-emphasised resoundingly during the pandemic.

Naidu specifically referred to the 'Vande Bharat' missions that enabled Indian nationals living and working abroad to return to their homeland and lauded departments concerned and agencies for skilfully managing this huge task.

He wanted the ICWA to undertake more such people-centric activities and reach out to hitherto untouched audiences around the country.

Noting that the council has been focusing on the study and analysis of the regional and global impact of the pandemic and its repercussions on matters such as international relations, Naidu said "these monumental changes and shifts over the past eight months have added new dimensions to the council's research work".

The vice president expressed happiness that the ICWA has made full use of digital platforms during the pandemic and held more than 50 online programmes and events, including national and international seminars and conferences, track II dialogue meetings with foreign counterparts, participation in regional and global meetings, and virtual signing of MoUs with Indian and global partners.

This has helped the council in maintaining and strengthening its position as one of the premier foreign affairs think tanks in India, he added.

Naidu expressed satisfaction over the two-day consultation held virtually with a number of policy makers and scholars from African countries recently in line with his suggestion made last year during the National Consultations on Africa.

He commended the ICWA for raising awareness among both experts and the general public through its activities and praised the Ministry of External Affairs for providing guidance to the council.

At the meeting, External Affairs Minister and vice president of ICWA S Jaishankar called for renewed focus and attention on the development of Area Studies in Indian universities.

He emphasised that a strengthened Indian scholarly understanding of socio-political, economic, historical and cultural contours of different countries and geographic regions is essential not only for knowledge creation on international affairs and foreign policy but also for robust policy formulation, the statement said.

Rajiv Kumar, VC of Niti Aayog and another vice president of ICWA, agreed with Jaishankar and suggested that the council should convene a meeting of Niti Aayog, MEA, education ministry and the UGC, and present a report to a special meeting of the general body or governing council of ICWA.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)