Trump assures Pakistan of support during Covid-19 crisis

Trump assures Pakistan of support during Covid-19 crisis, says will provide 'ventilators and economic help'

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday assured Pakistan of support during the corona-virus crisis & said that the US would provide "ventilators and economic help".

Pakistan PM Imran Khan and President Trump in a telephone conversation discussed challenges posed by the corona-virus pandemic, its effect on the global economy and ways to mitigate its impact according to an official statement from the Prime Minister House.

The call was an extension of the premier's diplomatic outreach efforts related to his Global Debt Relief Initiative. The initiative aims to bring together leaders from different countries "notably from the Paris Club, Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) & heads of international organisations" to push for a more coordinated response to the corona-virus pandemic.

Based on the premier's belief that "enhanced fiscal capacity is fundamental to recovery from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic", the initiative seeks to lay the ground for urgent debt relief for developing countries without "onerous conditionalities".

The premier thanked the US president for American support in international forums, particularly the International Monetary Fund.

The United State president offered to send a rapid testing machine for Covid-19 to the prime minister after learning that he would get tested for the virus.

During the telephone call, the premier conveyed "his condolences to President Trump on the loss of so many precious lives" in the US because of the corona-virus.

PM Imran also informed the US president of Pakistan's efforts to deal with the corona-virus pandemic, emphasizing that the country was "facing a dual challenge" — to control the spread of the virus & to protect people, particularly the weakest sector of society from dying of hunger amid the lock-down.

He added that the government had recently introduced an $8 billion package to support those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.