Foreign Affairs Ministry facilitating intl’ support for COVID-19 fight

DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, May 19, 2020

The Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been hosting regular consultations with The People’s Republic of China to contain and mitigate coronavirus in Guyana.

This was disclosed by Director of International Cooperation, Forbes July, who told DPI, that China has been reaching out and the Ministry has been ensuring Guyana’s response is “positive and expeditious.”

He noted that a recent contribution of testing kits and face masks was facilitated by his department.

The Director said the consultations are being facilitated to mobilise and access support from the international community. This he noted will reap dividends in preparing the local health system during this vulnerable period.

“Only recently a teleconference involving Chinese specialists with recently acquired experience in handling the COVID-19 situation in China was facilitated at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for our public health officials and members of the CDC,” July explained.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry along with overseas missions are in constant collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and other ministries, to engage international partners both at the bilateral and multilateral levels in the national effort to defeat the global pandemic.

“It will, therefore, require another level of international engagement to diminish and mitigate the effects of COVID-19 in our country,” July observed.

The Director noted that with China’s commitment lessons learnt and measures implemented along with best practices can be shared allowing players in the local health system to capitalise on opportunities to save lives and stop the spread of the virus.