April 22, 2020
President Donald Trump has reassured Pakistan of support during the coronavirus crisis, telling Prime Minister Imran Khan that the United States would provide economic help and ventilators to the country.
The two leaders discussed challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic in a telephonic conversation on Wednesday.
According to Pakistan Prime Minister’s House Trump and Khan discussed effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy and ways to mitigate the situation.
Prime Minister Khan has been reaching out to world leaders as part of diplomatic efforts to secure concessions for developing countries under Global Debt Relief Initiative.
Important players will include members of the Paris Club and bring together highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and heads of international organizations in a push for a more coordinated response to the pandemic.
Khan has been advocating that an “enhanced fiscal capacity is fundamental to recovery from the ongoing pandemic” and therefore there is an urgent need for debt relief for developing countries without “onerous conditionalities.”
Khan thanked the U.S. president for American support at international fora, particularly the International Monetary Fund for the relief in debt to the countries.
The statement says the US president offered to send a rapid testing machine for Covid-19 to the prime minister after learning that he would get tested for the virus.
During the telephone call, the premier conveyed his condolences to President Trump on the loss of so many precious lives in the United States to the highly infectious coronavirus.
The prime minister also informed the US president of Pakistan’s efforts to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, emphasizing that the country was “facing a dual challenge” — to control the spread of the virus and to protect people, particularly the weakest sector of society from dying of hunger amid the lockdown.
He added that the government had recently announced a $8 billion package to support those affected by the pandemic.
The prime minister also reiterated Pakistan’s support for “facilitation of the Afghan peace process and underscored the importance of next steps leading to the earliest commencement of Intra-Afghan negotiations,” the statement added.
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2020CoronavirusCoronavirus in the USCoronavirus OutbreakDonald TrumpImran KhanUS Aid for PakistanUS-Pakistan relations
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