Dhaka, 10 November 2020:

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen urged to strengthen regional cooperation to face challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign Secretary made the remark while addressing at the Vice-Ministerial Level Video Conference on COVID-19 Response held on 10 November 2020 among Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He said Bangladesh was open to any collaborative effort that addressed the scourge of the pandemic and attempted to redress its devastations.

Talking about Bangladesh, he said that the national response had been spearheaded by Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and immediately after the detection of the first COVID-19 case in Bangladesh in March this year, she issued 31-point directives to fight the pandemic. Noting that the government had already announced 21 stimulus packages totaling US$ 14.14 billion US dollar which was about 4.3 per cent of the GDP, for various sectors of the economy as well as to expand the social safety net for different disadvantaged segments of the society.

Foreign Secretary said that the world would need new thinking on human well-being, tackling inequality, supporting the poor and getting back economies to pre-Covid levels as poverty and inequality within and among societies were increasing rapidly. He insisted that while countries must address their respective public health concerns, but these must not constitute barriers to entry and movement of peoples across borders. He observed that during this pandemic many countries had suffered from disruptions in the supply chain and that many global brands were acting short of being responsible.  He called upon all to work towards ensuring long-term resilience of the supply chain and underscored the need to devise strategies and pragmatic measures so that countries like Bangladesh could adapt to the changes in global business, work and manufacturing at the least cost.

Foreign Secretary expressed concern at the rise of unilateralism in global trade which had accentuated during this Corona crisis period and underscored the need to restore an open and non-discriminatory rule-based multilateral trading system with special and differential treatments for the developing countries and particularly the LDCs. In this regard, he thanked China for its decision to provide duty-free quota-free access to 97 per cent of Bangladeshi products. He also stressed the need for continuing with major infrastructure development which would help in reversing the economic impacts of the pandemic in the post-COVID period by stimulating growth and generating employment.

Stating Bangladesh government’s inclusion of more than a million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals who were temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh in its overall COVID-19 strategy, Foreign Secretary said that such persecuted and marginalised population was often forgotten in times of crisis. He reiterated that ensuring their health services was a global responsibility as was their safe, sustainable and dignified return to their ancestral homeland in the Rakhaine province of Myanmar. More than three years had elapsed, regrettably not a single Myanmar national could be repatriated, he added. Foreign Secretary further called on China and other participants to play a more effective role for a solution to this crisis.

This consultation was convened in the backdrop of the worldwide breakout of the second wave of the Corona pandemic where the participating parties agreed to uphold the regional cooperation in the spirit of multilateralism. Recognising the leading role of the World Health Organization in this regard, the parties renewed their pledge to actively promote international cooperation in the form of sharing information, policy coordination and joint action towards the successful containment of the virus and post COVID economic recovery.

The consulting parties also discussed on the possible mode of cooperation in bringing the connectivity status to normalcy which had been disrupted due to the current pandemic situation while agreeing to facilitate the transportation of goods as well as people across the borders with sufficient containment measures. They also concurred to further advance the connectivity projects for quick and sustainable economic recovery.

Foreign Secretary called on the participating countries to share experiences and expertise acquired through combating the first wave of COVID-19 to effectively deal with the impending second wave. Acknowledging the importance of this consultation as a platform for enhanced regional cooperation, all the parties agreed to hold dialogues on a routinely fashion for win-win cooperation in different sectors of mutual interest.

Foreign Secretary thanked China for all her assistance made to Bangladesh during the COVID crisis as well as for creating such a platform for enhanced regional cooperation. Mr. Luo Zhaohui, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China chaired the consultation which was also participated by the Sri Lankan State Minister for Regional Cooperation Hon. Tharaka Balasuriya and Foreign Secretaries of Nepal and Pakistan.