Covid-19: Qureshi seeks Singapore's expertise

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday sought Singapore's expertise to control the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

According to Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui, Foreign Minister Qureshi continued diplomatic outreach to discuss the COVID-19 situations and held telephonic conversations with his counterparts from Singapore and Malaysia on Wednesday.

With Foreign Minister of Singapore Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Qureshi discussed the situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic and ways to address the situation.

Commending Singapore's deft handling of the public health crisis, Foreign Minister Qureshi stated that timely measures had helped in containing the spread of the virus, and that Pakistan looked forward to learning from Singapore's experience in the field of epidemiology.

While briefing his Singaporean counterpart of the steps taken by Pakistan to combat the disease, Qureshi also evinced interest in the application, 'Trace Together', in Pakistan to break the chain of transmission. He also thanked the Singapore government for facilitating the return of Pakistani nationals from Singapore.

The Singapore foreign minister also appreciated Pakistan's support in the repatriation of Singaporean nationals from Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Qureshi highlighted Prime Minister Imran Khan's call for debt relief and restructuring to help developing countries create the fiscal space needed to combat the disease, save precious human lives and shore up economies.

The foreign minister thanked Dr Balakrishnan for his standing invitation, and stated that he looked forward to visiting Singapore, at a mutually convenient time, once the crisis was resolved. The two foreign ministers agreed to stay engaged on COVID-19 and other matters of mutual interest. Foreign Minister Qureshi also spoke to Foreign Minister of Malaysia Hishamuddin Hussein over the telephone to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. He felicitated Foreign Minister Hussain on his recent appointment to the important position, and offered condolences for the loss of innocent lives in the pandemic. Qureshi also thanked the Malaysian foreign minister for looking after Pakistani nationals based in Malaysia, as well as facilitating Pakistanis at the airports.

Underscoring that Pakistan's and Malaysia's infection rates and fatalities were similar, the foreign minister commended the measures adopted by the Malaysian authorities to contain the epidemic, and apprised his Malaysian counterpart of the steps being taken by Pakistan. He also briefed the Malaysian foreign minister about Prime Minister Imran Khan's initiative for debt relief and restructuring to enable developing countries to save human lives and support economies.

Qureshi highlighted the developments in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where taking advantage of world preoccupation with the pandemic, the BJP government had amended domicile rules in a bid to change the disputed region's demography.