Islamabad: Pakistan will host a video conference with South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries centred on each state’s COVID-19 response, a news source reported. Special Assistant to Prime Minister (PM) for Health Dr Zafar Mirza will lead Pakistan’s delegation at the event — scheduled for today (Thursday).
Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Aisha Farooqui revealed that the SAARC video conference would extend Pakistan’s earlier steps for hosting a meeting of the health ministers from the member countries. She added that this meeting was now even more urgent in the wake of the pandemic.
Farooqui said that, during the session, national containment efforts would be discussed, along with measures to promote better cooperation to fight the ongoing crises. These measures include sharing best practices, strengthening disease surveillance, combined research efforts, building national capacities, regional and international linkages, and more.
The FO spokesperson said the SAARC video conference was part of Pakistan’s efforts for creating cooperation at regional level for overcoming this public health challenge — along with mitigating its socio-economic impact.
