Five nations cooperating to combat Covid is a welcome move
It is indeed encouraging that Bangladesh has called upon four other nations namely China, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka to share their experiences of combating Covid-19. This has come because of the possibility of a second wave in the coming winter which will no doubt have negative economic and social impacts on Bangladesh reeling from the shocks inflicted by the first wave. Some of the countries participating in the virtual meeting are among those that have been successful in containing the spread of infections in the early stages through extensive testing, quarantining those infected and contact tracing. They have also strictly enforced health guidelines which have significantly reduced the spread.
Knowing details of these strategies is invaluable as we know that we cannot afford big shocks to our economy which is already suffering. Thus the lessons learnt from the virtual meeting are greatly welcome. Regional cooperation is an effective way to combat a crisis like this pandemic and we believe it will be beneficial for all countries concerned.
We welcome the willingness shown by China to help all the other parties in testing, diagnostics, treatment and medicine and provide them with containment supplies.
A major aspect of this meeting was of course to facilitate regional cooperation in trade, investment and development—all of which have taken hard hits due to Covid. It is expected that if Bangladesh and the other countries can contain the pandemic it will boost economic recovery and development in all of them. No doubt China has its own interest in advancing its Belt and Road Initiative through infrastructure connectivity. For Bangladesh it is important to ensure smooth supply chains for its manufacturing industries especially such as the garments industry and attract foreign investment.
While it is reassuring that we will be strengthened in our fight against this pandemic through this regional cooperation, let us not forget that there are many things we can do ourselves for the economy to keep going. This includes mandating health guidelines such as mask wearing and social distancing in streets, transport and workplaces, increasing testing, improving health facilities and eliminating corruption and inefficiencies in the health sector, all of which if taken seriously could have reduced the spread of the virus and the number of fatalities. In order to recover in terms of public health and economic recovery we need all the help we can get from outside. But we also need to rectify our own failings first.
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