Islamabad, May 12 (PTI): Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Thursday that COVID-19 can be tackled by adopting customised policies by various countries, which are based on their national needs.

The foreign minister participated in the Second Global COVID-19 Summit, co-hosted virtually by the United States, Belize, Germany, Indonesia, and Senegal, according to Foreign Office.

Speaking at the summit “Vaccinate the World- Getting Vaccines to the Most Vulnerable”, Zardari said any approach to deal with the pandemic must be grounded firmly in scientific evidence and logic, while responses, monitoring and evaluation should be guided by established methods of epidemiology and community medicine.

“Our responses must be customised to the specific and peculiar needs of our societies. Every country and region will have to devise its own strategy. One-size-fits-all approach cannot be used to battle such pandemics,” he said.

By way of example, China's dynamic Zero-COVID approach, rooted in China's realities, was particularly successful in eliminating the virus, saving countless lives and swift economic recovery.

The foreign minister emphasised that international cooperation and coordination was of fundamental importance to the success of national efforts.

Health security, especially in times of pandemic, was indivisible and microorganisms did not recognise nation-states.

"For them, we were all the same. To counter them, we must act as one," he said.

The minister appreciated that the US was generous in providing 62 million vaccines to Pakistan, while “China, from the outset, supported us tremendously”.

Pakistan, too, provided COVID-related assistance to countries that needed it, he underlined.

Zardari underlined the importance of developing synergies with specialised agencies such as WHO, UNICEF, GAVI and COVAX to battle the scourge.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden opened the summit with his address, followed by remarks from Presidents of Senegal and Indonesia, Chancellor of Germany and Prime Minister of Belize. PTI SH IND IND

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