Pakistan to host SAARC video conference on April 23: FO

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office on Wednesday said that Pakistan will host the April 23 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) video conference on coronavirus epidemic.

According to Foreign Office, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Health Dr. Zafar Mirza will lead the Pakistan delegation.

The meeting will be attended by Secretary-General SAARC, His Excellency Esala Ruwan Weerakon, ninisters and Senior Officials, the FO statement said. 

The statement further said the virtual meeting takes forward Pakistan’s earlier initiative to host the SAARC Health Ministers meeting, which has assumed urgency in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

“In addition to exchanging information on the status of national containment efforts, the conference will deliberate on ways to promote deeper cooperation to battle the crisis, including inter alia through strengthening disease surveillance, sharing best practices, building national capacities, coordinating research efforts and promoting regional and international linkages.”

High population densities and fragile health systems render South Asia is home to one-fifth of humanity vulnerable to the pandemic. Closer coordination among regional countries through utilisation of all available institutional mechanisms, including the SAARC platform, remains important for combating the disease. 

The statement added “The video conference is part of Pakistan’s efforts to foster greater cooperation at the regional level to effectively overcome the public health crisis, and mitigate its socio-economic impact.”