FM Qureshi highlights issues faced by economy amid coronavirus outbreak

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday chaired a meeting to review negative impact of coronavirus on the economy, ARY NEWS reported.

The meeting was attended by Adviser to PM on Finance and Revenue Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Minister for Planning Asad Umar, Minister of State Hammad Azhar, Secretary Foreign Affairs Sohail Mahmood, senior officers of foreign affairs ministry, and others.

Speaking on the occasion, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that coronavirus was a global pandemic that has affected the countries worldwide.

“We also face difficulties in overcoming negative impact of coronavirus on our economic activities,” he said adding that the country has witnessed a major decline in exports due to the infection.

The economic activity within country also remained affected due to the lockdown, he said.

The foreign minister said that the prime minister has called for facilitating weaker global economies in the debt repayment process. “His suggestion was considered at major global forums,” he said.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi also apprised the meeting regarding his contacts with the world leaders on the pandemic issue.

He said that he discussed the matter with the United Nation (UN) general secretary, secretaries of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and foreign ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and European countries.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan’s coronavirus tally on Monday jumped to 3277 cases as 397 more COVID-19 patients were reported from across the country during the last 24-hours, the national dashboard maintained by the federal ministry of health showed.

According to the statistics on the dashboard, the death toll in the country from the virus has jumped to 50. However, a positive development is witnessed in fight against coronavirus as 257 people recovered from the deadly infection, the previous day.