STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday said Pakistan and China stand with each other in difficult times, as he arrived at the Islamabad International Airport to receive a team of Chinese medical experts. Addressing the Chinese media, the foreign minister said China has once again shown the world their friendship with Pakistan. “China once again has shown to the world they are friends of Pakistan, they care for us, we stand with each other in difficult times.” Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Foundation and Alibaba Foundation sent another aircraft carrying medical supplies to Pakistan. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood were at the airport to welcome the medical team and to express thanks to the government and people of China, on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan, for the timely support in this difficult time. NDMA Chairman Muhammad Afzal and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing also attended the ceremony. The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan said two tonnes of supplies worth Rs67 million were delivered to Karachi, including face masks, test kits, ventilators and personal protective equipment. The special flight also brought a team of eight Chinese doctors on a two-week visit to assess the steps taken by the Pakistan government to combat the virus. Xinjiang government also provided 50,000 masks each to the federal capital, as well as to the Sindh government. So far, China has donated 12,000 test kits, 300,000 masks, 10,000 protective suits and US$4m, to build an isolation hospital, to Pakistan. “I was in China to express my solidarity with the Chinese people and today I’m here to receive the medical team. We are grateful, this is a unique relationship. And such times tell us how close we are to each other,” the foreign minister said. The Chinese doctors will lend their medical expertise to their Pakistani counterparts as China is the only country that has successfully diminished the Covid19 threat, a Foreign Office spokesperson had said. China’s Communist party established contact with PTI’s central committee leader Arshad Dad on Saturday. The Chinese party leaders offered complete assistance to the government in fight against the virus, said the ruling party in a statement. So far, China has sent seven batches of medical groups to Iran, Iraq, Italy, Serbia and Cambodia to help them fight the virus, with three batches sent to Italy, each of which was mainly sent by one of China’s provinces
