The Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Abdulla Shahid has on Wednesday delivered a statement at the virtual COVID-19 ministerial hosted by the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In his statement, Minister Shahid highlighted the challenging circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe, and the need for a consolidated global effort to address such catastrophes.
In his speech, Minister Shahid highlighted the vital role played by the Government of the United States in supporting the Government of Maldives’ efforts to combat the virus, including multiple donations of Personal Protective Equipment, ventilators and vaccines that have increased the capacity of the Maldives to combat the spread of the virus more effectively. He also commended the United States leadership in coordinating a global response in addressing the pandemic.
Minister Shahid also welcomed the Government of the United States decision to support the establishment of the Global Health Threats Council and noted the vital role played by multilateral initiatives such as COVAX and GAVI in streamlining a global response to future health security threats. He further called the member states to renew their vow to increase cooperation amongst the members in order to ensure success of global mechanisms and prevent, detect and respond to future health security threats effectively.
The virtual COVID-19 ministerial hosted by the United States Secretary of State was focused on recognizing the leading role of foreign ministers in identifying solutions and gaps to ending the pandemic and building better health security to prevent and respond to future infectious disease and other biological threats.
