Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for global coordinated efforts to combat adverse impacts of Corona pandemic and to fight with its emerging second wave. Speaking at the virtual meeting of Council of Heads of State of Shanghai Cooperation Organization through video link today (Tuesday), he said COVID-19 vaccine should be a “global public good”, affordable and accessible to all. He emphasized on working out a strategy and an action plan to mitigate the adverse economic impact of the pandemic in the short, medium and long-term.
Prime Minister also proposed creation of SCO knowledge-bank of best practices to fight COVID-19 in order to guide the member states through the second wave and beyond. Imran Khan said we should call for more measures by G-20 countries to meet common challenges like the climate change, deteriorating environment, widening inequality within and among nations, poverty, disease, hunger and sustainable development.
He said this should include measures to stop financial outflows from developing countries to off-shore bank accounts in rich countries. Prime Minister also suggested formulating a multi-year SCO Youth Strategy with a focus on building partnerships among educational institutions. He said we should develop SCO partnership for technology, offering scholarships and exchange programmes for youth in the scientific field.
The Prime Minister said China and Pakistan are also collaborating in vaccine development, with phase three trials successfully underway.
He said Pakistan is open to sharing its own experience in effectively combating the pandemic and keeping the total cases and fatalities relatively low through calibrated policy of ‘smart lockdowns’ and financial support to the most vulnerable segments of society and stabilize economy. Talking about creating an environment of stability and cooperation in the region, Imran Khan stressed the need to implementing UN Security Council Resolutions for peaceful resolution of outstanding disputes. He said unilateral and illegal measures to change the status of disputed territories in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions adversely affect the regional environment.
He said as a shared responsibility, Pakistan has steadfastly supported the Afghan-led and the Afghan-owned peace process as there is no military solution to Afghanistan conflict.
Imran Khan said return of Afghan refugees to their homeland with dignity and honour should be an essential part of the peace negotiations.