As leaders of G-20 are meeting for an extraordinary session to discus a possible joint action plan to fight COVID-19, Pakistan on Thursday reiterated the call for debt rescheduling and economic assistance for the developing countries in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
In her weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui, responded to the pre-emailed queries, saying that Prime Minister Imran Khan has also publicly appealed to the US in his tweet, to lift sanctions from Iran on humanitarian grounds.
She said that the prime minister had also called for debt rescheduling and economic assistance for the developing countries. This was further underscored by the foreign minister in his recent telephonic conversations with his counterparts from France, Spain and Germany, she added.
Faroouqi said that the initiative had gathered traction in recent days, evidenced by the joint statement of the IMF and the World Bank calling for suspension of debt payments for poorer countries, adding that an extraordinary G-20 meeting was also likely to take place to discuss the economic impact of coronavirus pandemic on global economy and developing countries.
When Business Recorder brought in her notice through a question that Pakistan is not among the list of 39 heavily-indebted poor countries (HIPC) - 36 Countries That Have Qualified for, are Eligible or Potentially Eligible, and May Wish to Receive HIPC Initiative Assistance (as of February 2020), 3 others [Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan] Pre-Decision-Point Countries - categorized by the IMF, the spokesperson expressed her inability to comment further, saying "it is a question that Ministry of Finance can best respond to."
About the assistance pledged and received so far from other country in fight against the coronavirus, she said that the US had announced $1 million in assistance for Pakistan in dealing with COVID-19 situation, adding that the assistance was being disbursed in coordination with the Health Ministry.
She said that China had helped Pakistan a great deal in Pakistan's efforts to contain coronavirus.
She said that a team of medical experts was expected to arrive soon from China to assist our doctors in battling the coronavirus. The medical team will also bring medical equipment from China to strengthen our capacity, she added.
China's assistance to Pakistan to fight coronavirus also includes 12,000 test kits, 300,000 masks, 10,000 protective suits and $4 million to build a hospital, she added.
She further said that Xinjiang government had also provided 50,000 masks each to the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) as well as Sindh government and a considerable amount of donation from private sources from China was also arriving.
Alibaba Foundation has donated 50,000 test kits and 500,000 face masks as well, she added.
Furthermore, she stated that Pakistani diaspora communities in various parts of the world had also been mobilized to assist their compatriots in Pakistan.
About the level of cooperation between Pakistan and Iran over the issue of pilgrims, Farooqui said that the Government of Pakistan was in touch with the Iranian authorities on a regular basis with regards to matters pertaining to the coronavirus.