Ready to assist Pakistan in corona testing capacity: Japanese envoy

  ISLAMABAD: Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Kuninori Matsuda has said that Japan wants to extend any possible assistance to Pakistan on the issue of increasing coronavirus testing in the country
According to details, Japanese Ambassador Kuninori Matsuda called on Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal.
Expressing concern over the growing number of Covid-19 cases in Pakistan, the Japanese ambassador said that Japan wants to provide all possible assistance to increase the testing capability of Pakistan.
On the other hand, Chairman NDMA said that along with the locust problem and coronavirus, floods are also expected during the monsoon season in Pakistan, so the country is grateful to the Japanese government for its cooperation in these difficult times. He said that Pakistan seeks to acquire state of the art machinery to deal with the locust issue.
It should be noted that during the last 24 hours, there have been a record 105 deaths in the country, which is the highest number of deaths in a single day up till now.
According to an update released by the National Command and Operations Center, the deadly virus has infected 108,317 people across Pakistan, and the death toll stands at 2,172.
Moreover, The Government of Japan, in collaboration with a
Japanese NGO and some private organizations, is all set to provide
insecticide to the Government of Pakistan to support their efforts for
combating the serious threats emanating from the desert locust’s attacks in
the agricultural fields of the country.
To this effect, a Japanese NGO (CWS-Japan) will hand over 58 kilo liters of
insecticide “Lambda Cyhalothrine EC 2.5” to the National Disaster Management
Authority (NDMA) of the Government of Pakistan through the CWS-Asia, partner
NGO of the CWS-Japan this month to combat desert locusts. In addition to this, CWS-Japan will also extend support to the Pakistani
farmers who have been affected by the desert locust’s invasion.
In this backdrop, H.E. Mr. MATSUDA Kuninori, the Ambassador of Japan to
Pakistan, on Tuesday June 9 visited the National Disaster Management
Authority (NDMA) and held a meeting with its Chairman Lieutenant General Mr.
Muhammad Afzal, to express Japan’s commitment to support the Government of
Pakistan and its people for minimizing the damage caused by desert locusts.
During the meeting, the Ambassador informed the Chairman NDMA about the
upcoming support from Japan to Pakistan through a Japanese NGO CWS-Japan.
The Ambassador said that the damage being caused by the desert locusts to
crops and other agricultural products is a serious problem not only in
Pakistan but also in other South Asian countries which face similar
situation is and that this plague is becoming an imminent threat to the
world’s food supply.