China reassured of its continued support to fight Covid to Pakistan and other South Asian countries with both medical supplies and monetary assistance in a joint statement issued at the UN headquarters in New York.
China is ready to provide continued medical supplies and technical assistance.
China joined a video conference on the joint response to Covid-19 on Tuesday, attended by the foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
“The foreign ministers appreciated China’s efforts in addressing this challenge. China would act on President Xi Jinping’s important statement on making the vaccines a global public good and carry out continued vaccine cooperation with the participating countries in a flexible manner, including co-production of Covid-19 vaccines,” the joint statement said.
All foreign ministers agreed to closely follow the Covid-19 situation in India and expressed their willingness to provide needed support through respective channels in consultation with India.
The foreign ministers noted that Covid-19 was a common enemy of humankind and urged all nations to “step up solidarity and cooperation to win the final victory over it”.
China assured other participants that it was ready to provide continued medical supplies and technical assistance to all five nations.
The participants reiterated their firm support to the World Health Organisation in the fight against Covid-19 and acknowledged that “tracing the origin of the virus is a matter of science and a global mission”. They also opposed politicising the issue.
The foreign ministers agreed that vaccines, as a key weapon to defeat Covid-19, should be distributed in accordance with the principle of equity and justice. They warned that “vaccine nationalism” will hinder the global efforts to defeat Covid-19 and increase the “immunity gap”.
