COVID-19 taught us we are stronger and better when together: PM Narendra Modi at Global Citizen Live

Addressing ‘Global Citizen Live', PM Modi said, "Our shared experience of fighting the pandemic has taught us - we are stronger and better when we are together."

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New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the shared experience of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has taught the people that they are "stronger and better" when they are together.

Addressing ‘Global Citizen Live', Modi also warned that the threat of climate change is looming large before the world.

"For almost two years now, humanity is battling a once in a lifetime global pandemic. Our shared experience of fighting the pandemic has taught us - we are stronger and better when we are together," he said in a video message.

He said the world saw glimpses of this collective spirit when the COVID-19 warriors, doctors, nurses, medical staff gave their best to defeat the pandemic.

"We saw this spirit in our scientists and innovators who created new vaccines in record time,” he said, adding that generations will remember the manner in which human resilience prevailed over everything else.

Warning that the threat of climate change is looming large before the world, Prime Minister Modi told the global audience that the simplest and most successful ways to mitigate climate change is to lead lifestyles that are in harmony with nature.

"The threat of climate change is looming large before us. The world will have to accept that any change in the global environment first begins with the self,” Modi said.

"The great Mahatma Gandhi is widely known for his thoughts on peace and non-violence but do you know that he is also among the greatest environmentalists of the world,” Modi said.

He added that Gandhi led a zero-carbon footprints lifestyle.

"In whatever he did, he put the welfare of our planet above everything else," Modi said emphasising that Gandhi highlighted the doctrine of trusteeship "where we all are trustees of the planet with a duty of caring for it."

Modi told the global festival that today India is the only G-20 nation that is on track with its Paris commitments.

"India is also proud to have brought the world together under the banner of the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure," he said, underscoring that "we believe in the development of India for the development of the humankind."

Modi also said that poverty cannot be fought by making the poor more dependent on governments.

"Poverty can be fought when the poor start seeing governments as trusted partners. Trusted partners who will give them the enabling infrastructure to forever break the vicious circle of poverty,” he added.