ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday telephoned British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dominic Raab and exchanged views on the global outbreak of coronavirus and prospects of enhanced bilateral cooperation to jointly tackle the pandemic.
Expressing condolences over the loss of life in the United Kingdom, Qureshi conveyed his good wishes for the early recovery of Prince Charles and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had also been tested positive for the COVID-19 disease.
He apprised the British secretary that the UK nationals residing in Pakistan were being taken care of and assured of their return after the normalcy.
Lauding the ‘steps’ being taken by the UK authorities to combat the infectious virus, the foreign minister thanked British authorities for taking care of the Pakistani community in the UK.
While highlighting the situation in the Indian occupied Kashmir, he said due to the Indian lockdown for the last eight months, the territory had been facing a shortage of food and medical supplies to effectively contain the pandemic.
The foreign minister also reiterated the need to lift sanctions against Iran, enabling it to utilise its resources to save precious human lives.
He highlighted that the debt relief for developing countries, like Pakistan, would enable them to devote greater resources to fight the pandemic and mitigate its economic fallout.
Qureshi said the United Nations Secretary General and the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also given encouraging remarks in this regard.
The British foreign secretary thanked the foreign minister for solidarity. He concurred that enhanced global cooperation was key to combat the pandemic. He hinted at raising the proposal of restructuring of the loans at the appropriate forum.
Both the sides agreed to keep up the consultation for mutual cooperation against the pandemic.
