Published in: The Daily Star

Date: 14 Nov 2020

Bangladesh has called on China, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka to share their experiences of combating the first wave of Covid-19 in order to effectively deal with the possible second wave.

A high-level virtual meeting was held among representatives from the countries on Tuesday, where Bangladesh urged for strengthening of regional cooperation to face challenges of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

“Acknowledging the importance of this consultation as a platform for enhanced regional cooperation, all parties agreed to hold dialogues routinely for a win-win cooperation in different sectors of mutual interest,” said a press statement of the foreign ministry on Thursday.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui, China’s former ambassador to India, hosted the virtual meeting on Thursday. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen represented Bangladesh in the meeting. He told The Daily Star that “Bangladesh takes part in all such initiatives as it is about Covid-19 response and collaboration”.

He said Bangladesh is open to any collaborative effort that addresses the scourge of the pandemic and attempts to redress its devastations.

This is the second ministerial meeting held by China on Covid-19. Earlier, a similar meeting was held with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal in July, but this time they were joined by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh while Afghanistan was absent.

Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement that said these five countries held the meeting to build up “political consensus” in containing the Covid-19 pandemic and boosting economic development.

“To jointly defeat Covid-19, protect people’s life, safety and health, and accelerate economic and social recovery and development, China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka convened a vice-ministerial-level video conference on Covid-19 response on November 10,” said the Chinese foreign ministry statement.

The five parties agreed that the autumn and winter seasons are a crucial period for Covid-19 containment and vowed to strengthen information sharing and coordination of policies and actions to cope with the impact of the second wave of the pandemic, the statement said.

The Chinese side is ready to step up cooperation with the other four parties in testing, diagnostics, treatment and medicine, and continue to provide them with assistance in containment supplies, it mentioned.

The countries agreed on the importance of coordinating the Covid-19 response, economic and social development and the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative to boost post-Covid-19 economic recovery and development.

“Infrastructure connectivity under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative will be advanced at a faster pace. Smooth transportation of goods at border ports will be facilitated with sufficient containment measures in place,” the Chinese foreign ministry statement said.

The Bangladesh foreign secretary said during this pandemic many countries suffered from disruptions in the supply chain and that many global brands were not ready to take responsibility.

The Bangladesh foreign ministry statement said consulting parties also discussed possible modes of cooperation in bringing connectivity back to normalcy after the disruption due to the ongoing pandemic, while agreeing to facilitate the transportation of goods and people across borders with sufficient containment measures.

Source:

https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/boost-regional-cooperation-covid-19-1994457