Beijing: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held the first joint digital meeting with his counterparts in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nepal on Monday. During this time, he considered a four-point plan to stop the Covid-19 epidemic, to bring the economy back on track, and to restore “BRI” infrastructure projects. According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry release, Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar and Foreign Minister of Nepal Pradeep Kumar Gawli attended the meeting, while Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi did not attend.
He was represented by Pakistan Economic Affairs Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar. In this first meeting of these four countries, Wang called on the World Health Organization to play its role in strengthening the consensus on combating the epidemic, avoiding the politicization of the Coronavirus crisis, and building a global health community jointly. Proposed a four-point action plan, including strong support. This month, the Trump administration formally informed the United States of its decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization.
The Trump administration accused the World Health Organization of supporting China on the Coronavirus epidemic issue. According to the release, the Chinese Foreign Minister said that the four countries should learn from the experience of China and Pakistan to cooperate regionally on joint prevention and control of this epidemic. He said that the Chinese vaccine of Covid-19 has been developed and China will provide vaccines to these countries and help them strengthen their public health system. Importantly, he also proposed that after the epidemic, the four countries would strongly cooperate in the joint development of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and restore work.
“We will actively promote the construction of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Himalayan Cross Connectivity Network (THCN),” Wang said. We will support expanding this corridor to Afghanistan and opening more doors for the benefit of regional connectivity. ” His statement matters a lot as it comes amid tensions on the border between India and China. It will be a matter of concern for India if Pakistan and Nepal are actively involved in large infrastructure projects under CPEC and THCN.
