President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday participated in a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Contact Group Meeting in response to COVID-19.
The meeting, which held via videoconferencing and had the theme: “United Against COVID-19,” was presided over by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and current chair of NAM, Mr IIham Aliyev.
Delivering his opening remarks, Aliyev thanked the member countries of NAM for unanimously endorsing the global fight against COVID-19 to protect humanity from destruction.
According to him, Azerbaijan had already donated five million dollars to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to help combat the deadly coronavirus disease.
He informed that as part of measures to contain the pandemic, Azerbaijan had introduced several initiatives including special quarantine, which it had extended to May 31.
He also disclosed that the country had earmarked $3.5 billion for the implementation of the country’s social interventions programmes, while tax holidays had also been offered to some companies to cushion the negative impacts of the deadly virus.
He commended the World Health Organisation and the United Nations for their collaborative support in the global fight against coronavirus and pledged that NAM would continue to share ideas and information with all stakeholders to combat the pandemic.
Also, in attendance at the meeting was the President of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Professor Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, who reiterated the commitment of the UN in the efforts to finding solutions to the deadly coronavirus.
He noted that the virus had disrupted economies of many nations across the world, but commended member countries of the NAM for their joint efforts in the fight against the pandemic.
Muhammed-Bande implored them to continue to build stronger economies that would address the difficulties being experienced by their respective citizens.
In a video message at the event, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, noted with concern that the virus had so far inflicted serious damages humanity and economies of the world.
He, however, stressed the need to sustain global solidarity against the novel Coronavirus.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described the NAM Summit on COVID-19 as a welcome development as “no country can manage the coronavirus alone.”
He observed that national unity, global solidarity and commitment to peace are vital in the fight against the virus, adding: “COVID-19 has affected all segments of the society- all countries must work together to ensure that no one is left behind.”
The chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, in his contribution, praised China and Cuba for sending medical equipment to Africa to contain the spread of the novel virus.
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