ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reform and Special Initiatives Asad Umar held a virtual meeting with the US Department of State’s Coordinator for Global COVID Response and Health Security Ms. Gayle E. Smith at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington D.C. on Saturday.
The minister briefed Gayle Smith on Pakistan’s efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic including the vaccination campaign. He thanked the US government for providing valuable support for Pakistan’s COVID-19 response, noting, in particular, the provision of COVID vaccines.
Ms. Smith appreciated Pakistan’s efforts against COVID-19 and said that Pakistan is an important partner in combating the pandemic. She said that the US government has so far provided around 16 million vaccination doses to Pakistan and was trying to increase that figure.
Asad Umar and Ms. Smith agreed to enhance cooperation in fighting the pandemic.
The minister stressed the need to learn from collective experiences and lessons of the global COVID 19 response.
The minister and Ms. Smith agreed that the global community needed to share best practices and work together to prepare for future pandemics.
They agreed to remain engaged for further bilateral collaboration in the health sector.
