China to provide one million COVID vaccine doses to Pakistan

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday was assured by his Chinese counterpart that Beijing would supply over one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Pakistan for emergency use.

The matter was discussed in a telephonic conversation between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

FM Qureshi said that the third phase of clinical trials of the Chinese vaccine was progressing well in Pakistan, hoping that it would be made available in the country soon.

While emphasizing that China had made remarkable achievements in developing COVID-19 vaccines, the federal minister maintained that the government had approved the Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use in Pakistan and expressed hope for its early availability from China.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured that China would work to provide over one million doses of the vaccine to Pakistan for emergency use.

During the conversation, views were exchanged on COVID-19, bilateral relations, and regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Qureshi stressed that both Pakistan and China were making strenuous efforts to contain and combat the COVID-19.

FM Qureshi briefed Wang Yi about India’s aggressive posture in the region and how New Delhi’s bellicose and irresponsible policies were imperiling regional peace and stability.

He also emphasized that Pakistan and China must continue to closely coordinate efforts to advance the shared objectives of peace, stability, and economic development in Afghanistan.

The minister also highlighted that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a transformational project, and BRI and CPEC would become the hub of trade and economic activity, sustainable development, and greater people-to-people exchanges.

In a bid to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges,  Wang Yi extended an invitation to Shah Mehmood Qureshi to visit China at his earliest convenience which the latter accepted.