Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday reiterated Pakistan's offer to host the SAARC Health Ministers' Conference to enhance cooperation among member countries and development partners in health sector, with special focus on COVID-19.
Foreign Minister Qureshi stated this during his telephonic conversation with his Bhutanese counterpart, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Tandi Dorji. The two ministers discussed the challenges faced by the region and the ways to counter them in the wake of rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foreign Office said.
Foreign Minister Qureshi stated that Pakistan considered the SAARC an important platform for regional cooperation. Reaffirming Pakistan's abiding commitment to the SAARC process, he reiterated Pakistan's offer to host the SAARC Health Ministers' Conference to enhance cooperation among member countries.
He proposed that a video conference might be organized in view of the prevailing global health emergency. Foreign Minister Dorji welcomed the proposal and expressed Bhutan's readiness to participate.
Discussing the SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund, it was underlined that the fund should be placed under the secretary general SAARC and the modalities for its use, be finalised through consultations, the Foreign Office further stated in a statement.
Dilating upon the economic impact of COVID-19 on the developing countries, it stated that Foreign Minister Qureshi underscored the need for debt restructuring of the developing countries to enable them to divert resources towards saving lives.
He shared that the president World Bank and the managing director IMF had also raised the issue and in that regard the UN secretary general had also emphasized the need for out-of-the-box solutions. Appreciating Pakistan's efforts, it stated that Foreign Minister Dorji underscored that given the unprecedented economic challenges faced by the developing countries due to the pandemic, a serious consideration of the proposed restructuring was critical.
The two foreign ministers reaffirmed the need for joint efforts to deal with the current situation and agreed to stay closely engaged in the matter. Foreign Minister Qureshi also held telephonic conversation with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, and exchanged views on the pandemic.
Foreign Minister Qureshi expressed condolences with his Italian counterpart on the deaths caused by the outbreak in Italy and expressed solidarity with the Italian government and the people in this difficult time. The foreign minister also lauded the services and courage of Italian doctors and medics in dealing with the pandemic.
Qureshi also apprised the Italian foreign minister about steps taken by Pakistan to prevent the spread of the virus and also thanked his Italian counterpart for taking special care of Pakistanis residing in Italy during this difficult time.
While briefing his Italian counterpart about the worsening situation in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Qureshi said that the occupied valley was facing severe shortage of medicines and food due to the ongoing curfew, adding that there were 80 million Kashmiris waiting for the attention of the international community to get rid of Indian occupation.
The foreign minister said that, while facing this challenge, developing countries with low resources were facing severe economic hardship, adding that Pakistan had suggested that the debt of the developing countries be restructured, so that they could use their resources to save valuable human lives.