Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla has been engaged with counterparts from US, Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Vietnam in weekly telephonic conversations to share ideas and best practices in the Indo-Pacific region for responding to COVID-19 pandemic. This practice of weekly tele-conversations was initiated by US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun.<br />'' <br />'' External Affairs Ministry has said in a statement that these discussions among the partner countries have helped shape informed and coordinated responses to the evacuation of stranded nationals from each other's territories. The discussions have also helped in maintenance of critical supplies of life-saving medicines and protective health equipment and extension and facilitation of visas for each other's nationals. Several ideas for dealing with the pandemic and mitigating its impact have been shared by partner countries, besides information on national efforts.<br />'' <br />'' These conversations have brought out the need for real-time communication among partner countries on the evolving challenges and learning from each other's best practices. They have underlined the need for a new template of globalization and for international institutions to reflect contemporary realities. <br />''  <br />