Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has given a call to the world to unite amid the economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
"In this time of serious crisis, we face threats to our health and sadness for the family and friends we have lost," the Nobel Peace Prize winner said in a message.
"Economic disruption is posing a major challenge to the governments and undermining the ability of so many people to make a living. It is during times like this that we must focus on what unites us as members of one human family. Accordingly, we need to reach out to each other with compassion. As human beings, we are all the same.
"We experience the same fears, the same hopes, the same uncertainties, yet we are also united by a desire for happiness. Our human capacity to reason and to see things realistically gives us the ability to transform hardship into opportunity," said the spiritual leader.
"This crisis and its consequences serve as a warning that only by coming together in a coordinated, global response, will we meet the unprecedented magnitude of the challenges we face. I pray we all heed to 'The Call to Unite'," the elderly monk added.
The Tibetan administration-in-exile is based in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh.
( With inputs from IANS )