SCO Summit: International community must make mutual efforts to counter COVID-19 pandemic, says PM

(Karachi) Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that there is need to take mutual and coordinated efforts by international community to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, ARY News reported.

Addressing the 20th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State through video conference on Tuesday, Imran said that more than 50 million people have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak worldwide.

He added that the corona pandemic has badly impacted economies globally. He said the economies are improving at a slower pace and measures should be taken to get on track under-developed countries.

"We appreciate China's efforts to contain the spread of the virus," the PM said. He maintained that Pakistan and China are making efforts to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.

Afghan peace process

The prime minister stated that Pakistan played its role to start the peace process between the Afghan government and Taliban. He added that there is need to keep an eye on those elements who want to disrupt the Afghan peace initiative.

He said Pakistan has rendered great sacrifices for peace in the region and has always promoted the message of harmony on international forum. "Pakistan was on the forefront in fight against terrorism."

"It’s critical to address terrorism in all its forms," the premier said. "We welcome the SCO’s data security initiative, especially China’s initiative," he stated.

Respecting each other's belief

The prime minister said that it is need of the hour to respect each others' religion and beliefs. "We must also continue to steadfastly oppose extremist and xenophobic tendencies — including racist ideologies inspired by neo-Nazis — and Islamophobia.

"The international community should oppose divisive policies based on discrimination and focus on building interfaith and cross cultural bridges," he said.

Imran Khan appealed to the SCO Summit 2020 to call for mutual respect for all religions and beliefs. He pointed out that the United Nation will have to take serious measures to resolve international disputes.

Poverty and climate change

He highlighted that his government is focusing on poverty alleviation in Pakistan. "We are thankful to all the SCO members for helping us," he said.

The prime minister underscored that Pakistan stood with the SCO’s commitment toward climate change, noting that the South Asian country was "mitigating the adverse effects of climate change".

"We have launched an eco-system restoration initiative to plant 10 billion trees in the country," he said.