Pakistan lauds China’s support against COVID-19

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan acknowledges China’s support amid the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s top diplomat said.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told The Nation that Islamabad was in regular contact with Beijing as Pakistan fights coronavirus.

“China is our iron brother and had supported us in this difficult time. We acknowledge this cooperation,” he said. Qureshi said China had always stood by Pakistan in the hour of need. “We are together in good and bad times.”

State officials affirmed the sentiments expressed by the Minister, saying that the Pakistan-China relationship had once again proven unshakable during such critical times. China not only looked after Pakistani students in Wuhan but also provided necessary medical assistance on an emergency basis for the containment of COVID-19

A team of Chinese medical experts visited Pakistan to share their experiences of fighting the disease. The team met doctors, government and health officials in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

China also provided critical medical supplies including 529,924 N95 masks, 33,744 protective suits, 10,000 testing kits, 1558,379 medical masks, 36 ventilators, 180 thermometer, 100 thermal scanners, 24,900 gloves, 59,376 goggles, 10,000 litre sanitizers and 1,442 kg non-woven fabric for making protective suits.

For Gilgit-Baltistan, special effort was made and medical supplies were sent to GB at Khunjrab included five ventilators, 200,000 face mask, 2,000 N95 masks, 2,000 testing kits and 2,000 protective suits. Pakistan Army helicopters were flown to get these to various parts of GB.

The Chinese medical experts’ team also visited Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and discussed the ways to prevent and diagnose COVID-19 with Pakistan Military counterparts. The delegation highly praised the firm commitment and strong measures taken by the state. The Chinese delegation called on Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar at CM office Lahore, and also met with Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah and exchanged views of fighting COVID-19. A teleconference on sharing knowledge and experience gained from People’s Liberation Army’s response to COVID-19 was held between military medical experts from Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Pakistani Armed Forces.

BEIJING, April 14 (APP)::Pakistan Ambassador to China, Naghmana Hashmi Tuesday said that China’s overwhelming support to help Pakistan fight novel coronavirus pandemic was in fact a symbol of the brotherhood of the two peoples.

“We thank Chinese people for their enthusiasm and support for Pakistan and look forward to strengthening cooperation with Pakistan to continue the fight against the epidemic,” she said in an interview with xuexi.cn, a Chinese news website.

Ambassador Hashmi, in the interview, spoke on mutual assistance in the prevention and control of the outbreak between China and Pakistan, friendly exchanges in various fields and the future development of bilateral relations.

To meet this challenge, she said that Pakistan had mobilized its institutional, capital and human resources to coordinate disease prevention and control.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the government was at the forefront of the fight against the epidemic and a COVID-19 National Coordinating Committee was established to review the changing situation.

Pakistan had announced the closure of educational institutions, the cancellation of mass rallies and restrictions on the movement of international flights. Provinces and districts had also taken effective measures to contain the further spread of the epidemic in accordance with local conditions, she added.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, she said, called on the entire population to remain united, to avoid fear and panic and to focus on compliance with the necessary protection measures in order to achieve a comprehensive and unified national response.

“In the face of this terrible global epidemic, the people of Pakistan are confident and look forward to overcoming this challenge with the help of our friends and in our innate capacity,” she added.

While commenting on Pakistan and China’s mutual assistance in epidemic prevention, she said that Pakistan and China always stood together when they need it. The COVID-19 epidemic had also tested the interconnectedness of the two countries.

In the early days of the virus epidemic, China was in the throes of a rapid rise in infection rates and rising deaths, and Pakistan provided the greatest material and moral support to it Iron Brothers.
“In a show of unwavering support and solidarity with the Chinese people and government, Pakistan has donated the necessary epidemic prevention equipment to China to help it fight the epidemic, and both houses of the Pakistani Parliament have adopted a resolution expressing firm solidarity and confidence in China’s efforts to control and eliminate the epidemic,” she added.

Ambassador Hashmi said that now that China was the only country to fully control the outbreak. The Chinese people and the government have responded in the same way, fully supporting Pakistan in stepping up preventive measures against the COVID-19.

The Chinese government had sent a special plane to Pakistan with medical professionals and rescue workers to fight the outbreak. By the end of March, China’s aid included 12,000 test kits, 300,000 masks and 10,000 protective clothing.

In addition to official assistance, Pakistan had received large donations from leading Chinese entrepreneurs and individuals, she added.

On President Arif Alvi’s recent visit to China, she said that Pakistan and China had a tradition of frequent high-level exchanges, which was a special and recurring feature of bilateral relations.

Prime Minister Imran Khan visited China three times in 2018 and 2019. Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan also visited Pakistan in May 2019. “These high-level exchanges have injected new impetus into bilateral relations and reaffirmed our firm commitment to work together in the new era to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results and maintain regional peace and stability.”

President Arif Alvi’s recent visit to China was aimed at upholding this long tradition and maintaining the momentum of the leadership exchanges between the two countries.

However, the visit took place in different contexts. This was a very special moment, the Chinese government and people were engaged in a people’s war against the deadly COVID-19 outbreak.

Ambassador Hashmi said that the purpose of the visit was to reaffirm Pakistan’s firm solidarity and firm support for China at this challenging time, to express its condolences to the families of the deceased and to pay tribute to the courage and determination of the Chinese people to fight the epidemic.

During his visit, the president met with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress,Mr. Li Zhishu. These exchanges had traditional warmth and cordiality, which had been a hallmark of bilateral relations at all levels, she added.

Ambassador Hashmi said during the visit, the two sides also reviewed bilateral relations in various areas of cooperation, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

They discussed important regional and multilateral issues and decided to further deepen strategic communication and coordination at all levels.

Pakistan and China expressed satisfaction with the healthy development of bilateral relations and agreed to further consolidate all-weather relations in the future, especially in the economic and trade fields.

She said that the president’s visit sent a very strong signal that the relationship between Pakistan and China was unique, powerful and unprecedented.

This was a reaffirmation of the firm commitment to Pakistan-China relations, the strength of Pakistan-China relations would not be affected by domestic challenges or adverse global turmoil.

The president’s visit attracted the attention of the Chinese public and the media, and strengthened and revitalized the fraternal friendship and friendship that had always existed between the two peoples.

“In conclusion, I would like to say that this visit has added a new chapter to the glorious history of bilateral relations and provided a strong impetus for the future development of bilateral relations,” she added.

While commenting on cooperation agreements in the fields of energy, trade and industry between the two countries, she said that in recent years, all-weather cooperation between Pakistan and China had been deepening, bilateral cooperation had been expanding and mutual benefit and win-win results had been deepened.

“During the president’s visit, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing two joint working groups on agriculture and science and technology. The two countries had also signed agreements to deepen cooperation in pest control and the fight against coronavirus outbreaks,” she added.

Ambassador Hashmi said that in the past, the two countries had concluded agreements to strengthen bilateral trade, infrastructure, industrial cooperation and cultural cooperation, and have developed various implementation mechanisms.

“I am pleased to see that our cooperation has achieved positive results of mutual benefit and win-win results. Thanks to our bilateral cooperation, Pakistan has succeeded in establishing a strong and solid network of facilities to support its growing economy and overcome the worsening energy shortage that has hampered our growth,” she added.

Ambassador Hashmi remarked that both sides were currently working on a series of projects aimed at improving the socio-economic status of the Pakistani people. The successful conclusion of the second phase of the China-Pakistan FTA opened a new window for the doubling of bilateral trade volume between China and Pakistan.

“We should deepen practical cooperation in agriculture, forestry, poverty alleviation, tourism, national governance systems and finance,” she added.

She informed that the Pakistani government was developing policies to attract Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in these areas in order to achieve strong, inclusive and sustainable growth.

Ambassador Hashmi said that Pakistan and China were ancient civilizations and had maintained deep cultural, educational and trade ties since ancient times.

“We also hope to deepen people-to-people exchanges and educational exchanges in the new era, continue to enrich this ancient cultural ties and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results,” she added.

About the construction of the CPEC and Gwadar Port, she said that CPEC was the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping and played an important role in the development agenda of the present government in Pakistan.

“This is a transformative project that, through a radical overhaul of Pakistan’s energy and infrastructure, has laid a solid foundation for our future socio-economic development and has produced tangible results on the ground,” she added.

During the high-level exchanges between the leaders of Pakistan and China, the two sides agreed that the focus of the second phase of the CPEC was to complete all projects under construction in a timely manner and continue to realize their full potential for socio-economic development, job creation, improvement of people’s livelihood, accelerated industrial development, industrial parks and cooperation in the agricultural fields, she said.

Ambassador Hashmi said that in order to achieve this goal, the two countries were working closely and had established a number of mechanisms to complete all projects within the prescribed time frame.

“Pakistan has established the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority, which oversees the rapid implementation of CPEC project. The two sides are committed to the high-quality development of the CPEC and to promoting Pakistan’s socio-economic development and industrialization,” she added.

Ambassador Hashmi said that as an important node of the CPEC, Gwadar was receiving increasing attention because of its trade potential and added, both countries had completed a series of projects in Gwadar, including port construction, electricity projects, hospitals, educational institutions and clean and green development in neighbouring areas, while many others are at different stages of completion.

“We are confident that all projects in the CPEC will be completed in a timely manner to achieve the desired goals and set a new example for international cooperation based on common interests, common goals and common future,” she said.

On the establishment of sustainable plant pest control and management mechanism, she said that in Pakistan, locust plague had become a serious problem, because at a time when food supplies are important, locust plagues could exacerbate food security problems. Agriculture was the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, and locust plagues can pose serious challenges to our economic well-being.

Ambassador Hashmi said that China had provided Pakistan with comprehensive support and proposals to control the damage caused by locusts. China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs sent a working group to Pakistan to advise on the matter.

She said that the Chinese experts conducted a survey of the disaster area and presented their research results to experts, which were of great help to effectively control the locust plague.

The two sides also agreed that China would supply Pakistan with 250 tons of pesticides and 36 traction high-efficiency sprayers. The two sides also planned to establish plant pest control centres in Pakistan to respond effectively to similar problems in the future.

“We are deeply grateful to China for its timely assistance and supplies, and look forward to benefiting from China’s expertise and technical equipment, she added.

Ambassador Hashmi also hoped that the two countries would work together in the future to establish a sustainable management mechanism for plant pest control.

Responding to a question, she said that Pakistan and China were “all-weather strategic partners”, iron brothers, the most reliable partners and closest neighbours. The two countries had extensive exchanges in political, economic and cultural fields. The unanimous support of the government and the public for the bilateral relations bodes well for the future development of bilateral relations.

“I want to reject the cynical view that Pakistan-China relations are merely the result of convergence of political or economic interests. The fundamental forces that drive these dynamic all-weather relations are mutual respect and understanding, shared experiences of the past, adherence to international norms and values and an irresistible desire to work together for a rules-based, transparent and democratic world order,” she added.

Ambassador Hashmi said that over the past 70 years, both countries had faced the changes of the Cold War; hostile neighborhoods; economic crises and internal political turmoil. “But these challenges have brought us closer together and helped us to build a very strong relationship that has never been seen before in the history of modern international relations.”

“We are willing to build on past achievements to further expand the breadth and depth of bilateral relations. We are working to keep our activities in areas of culture and economy in tandem with our excellent political relationships,” she added.

While appreciating China’s remarkable achievements in socio-economic development, poverty alleviation and development, tourism, green development, anti-corruption and promoting integrity, she said, “We are willing to learn from China.”

Ambassador Hashmi said that the year 2021 would be a special moment, and both the countries would celebrate those achievements and reaffirm their determination to build on them.

“I look forward to a stronger, more inclusive and inclusive relationship between our two countries in the future that not only serves the best interests of our two countries, but will also ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region as a whole,” she added.

“As for the all-weather friendship between Pakistan and China, All I can say is, “The best is still behind us,” she concluded.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday said China has once again proved to be an all-weather friend as it provided all possible help amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in a statement said that Beijing not only looked after Pakistani students in Wuhan but also provided necessary medical assistance on an emergency basis for containment of Coronavirus.

A team of Chinese health experts visited Pakistan to share their experiences of recently fighting Coronavirus in China. The team met doctors, government and health officials in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.

NCOC further said that China provided critical medical supplies including 5,29,924 N-95 Masks, 33,744 Protective suits, 10,000 testing kits, 15,58,379 medical masks, 36 ventilators, 180 thermometer, 100 thermal scanners, 24,900 gloves, 59,376 googles, 10,000 liters sanitizers and 1,442-kilogram non-woven fabric for making protective suits.

Besides, medical supplies were sent to Gilgit-Baltistan, including five ventilators, 200,000 face mask, 2,000 N-95 masks, 2,000 testing kits, 2,000 protective suits.

It must be noted that Pakistan on Tuesday reported three more deaths from novel coronavirus while the total number of cases has jumped to 5,716.

According to the latest statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre, out of 5,716 infected persons, 1,378 have recovered their health and were discharged from the hospitals across the country, while 46 are still in critical condition.

The national dashboard recorded three coronavirus deaths during last 24 hours, taking the tally to 96.

During last 24 hours, overall, 3,157 tests were conducted countrywide, to detect the deadly wires. The number of tests conducted so far has increased to 69, 928.