VIENTIANE: Asean and China are committed to reducing the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the economic and social development of all affected nations, according to their foreign ministers today.
The foreign ministers of Asean and China said they would maintain people-to-people exchanges and trade and investment activities, apart from resuming and enhancing exchanges and cooperation in the region based on the progress in the prevention and control of the epidemic.
“Enterprises affected by the epidemic, especially micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises, will receive the appropriate support, including through promotion of digital economy like (that) underlined by the Asean-China Year of Digital Economy Cooperation to facilitate economic activity during epidemics.
“We are determined to continue working together to deal with this dangerous disease and to address the adverse impacts of Covid-19,” they said in a joint statement after the special Asean-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on the virus here.
The meeting was co-chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin. Also present was Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
The foreign ministers said they would brief their respective leaders on the outcome of the meeting and welcomed their guidance on proposals.
The ministers also agreed to strengthen cooperation within Asean-led mechanisms and with external partners to address Covid-19 in a comprehensive and effective manner, taking into account the different levels of development of health systems in the region.
“We will strengthen cooperation in risk communication and community engagement readiness and respond to ensure that the people are rightly and thoroughly informed on Covid-19 and are not being misled by misinformation and fake news pertaining to it,” the statement said.
They would strengthen policy dialogue and exchanges on the latest development of the Covidf-19 outbreak, including its control and treatment, and its related study and research through existing mechanisms to fully implement the Asean-China memorandum of understanding on health cooperation and support more mutually agreed cooperation projects.
“All should engage in exchanges of relevant data and technology, experience and capacity building, including training of health and medical personnel, mutual visits of medical experts and other health workers as well as the possibility of holding an Asean-China Workshop on Health Emergency Personnel, strengthen cooperation between Centres for Disease Control and relevant institutions of Asean and China,” the statement added. – Feb 20, 2020, Bernama
