Baku, March 02 (QNA) – Governmental and international officials have expressed their hope that the Summit-level Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group in response to COVID-19, which was hosted today in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, will contribute to coming up with a specific vision regarding recovery plans for the post-Coronavirus pandemic and working on formulating relief plans for the victims of climate change and earthquakes in many countries of the world, most recently Turkey and Syria.
In statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the sidelines of the summit in Baku, Yemen’s Foreign Minister Dr. Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, affirmed that the world has suffered during the last three years from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, pointing out that the summit is an opportunity to draw some lessons and to show the great role of the Non-Aligned Movement in supporting cooperation between the Movement’s countries and the rest of the world.
He added, “We are in dire need to work under the umbrella of the movement and the diplomacy of non-alignment on various issues,” noting that the summit meeting was an occasion for the world to remember the tragedy that Yemen is going through.
For his part, the Minister of Economic Affairs of Pakistan Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, confirmed that the meeting was fruitful, as the issues of the (Covid-19) pandemic and other issues were discussed, including the role that can be played in facing the repercussions of the post-pandemic.
He said that the summit was also keen to discuss issues of climate change and natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, the latest of which were witnessed by Pakistan, Turkey and Syria, and to work on how to support relief operations to prevent the spread of epidemics and diseases.
He expressed his hope that the summit would contribute to providing solutions to the humanitarian situation in various parts of the world.
In similar statements, the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Antonio Vitorino, stressed that this edition of the summit is of particular importance because it evaluates the long-term effects of the (Covid-19) pandemic.
He said that immigrants and displaced persons are the most affected, given the difficulty of accessing health services in times of pandemics and natural disasters.
For his part, the Senior Advisor to the Royal Government of Cambodia Dr. Sok Siphana, stressed that the summit comes at an appropriate time, as the world is trying to get out of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He pointed out that it is necessary for the leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement to meet to discuss future plans and how to move forward for the post-Coronavirus phase.
Within the framework of the summit’s work, HE Eng. Waleed bin Abdulkarim Al Khuraiji, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said that the Kingdom is committed to strengthening joint action with all friendly and brotherly countries and the international community in general, so that all peoples can live in a world where security, peace and stability prevail.
In his speech, His Excellency stressed that the Palestinian issue will remain present in the group’s meetings until the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, referring to the efforts made by Azerbaijan during its presidency of the movement during a period in which the world is going through accelerating challenges and exceptional circumstances, referring to the Kingdom’s solidarity with Turkey and Syria as a result of the devastating earthquake disaster. (QNA)
Source: Qatar News Agency