New Delhi: Venkaiiah Naidu vice president on Saturday described the Coronavirus Pandemic as the most serious challenge that has faced humanity in living memory when he asked the Indian strategic community to focus on the world after Covid and its implications for the country.
The Vice President, who is the President of Ex-Officio from the Indian World Affairs Council (Icwa), made this statement at the meeting of 19 board members.
Previously on that day, he had led the 20th meeting of the Icwa Government Agency.
According to an official statement, former Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Vijay Thakur Singh was appointed as the next Director General of Icwa at the meeting as the term Detention of TCA Raghavan ended on July 23.
The law that regulates the Icwa three-year term for the Secretary of the Member and Ex-Officio, said the statement.
Overcoming the virtual leadership council meeting from Hyderabad, Naidu noted that the global impact analysis of Pandemi had become a cross-cutting theme in Icwa in all of his deliberations and research fields.
He appreciated Icwa’s activities for the past year despite a pandemic disorder.
In the past seven months, despite its research activities, Icwa organized a total of 28 events which were mixed conferences, panel discussions, lectures, track-II dialogue and book discussions.
Naidu observed that despite his traditional focus on regional studies in its program activities, Icwa had made the latest efforts to focus on broad themes such as Mahatma Gandhi and the world, maritime affairs, advancing multilateralism and international diplomacy in international relations, and the contribution of Indian soldiers in war World I.
He noted that the Board has fully utilized a digital platform during a pandemic that has provided the opportunity to expand its reach.
Naidu also launched a book, ‘Sapru House: The story of the institutional building in world affairs’.
Icwa is placed in Sapru House.
Responding to his call to conduct special research and work in world affairs aimed at lay readers, the vice president said, Icwa had assigned a short monograph on Indian bilateral relations with Bangladesh written in simple and technical languages.
He said the same monograph can also be taken for other countries.
The virtual meeting was attended by three presidential deputy councils – Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, Parliament Committee on the Chair of the External Alayog and Niti Aayog Deputy Chairperson of Rajiv Kumar.