The Foreign Office stated on Friday that The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is set to provide Pakistan with the equipment for testing of COVID-19 by using the nuclear-derived technique.
“The IAEA will provide Pakistan with a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine, bio-hazard safety cabinets, test kits and related consumer goods to help fight the novel coronavirus through the nuclear-derived technique,” the Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said at a press briefing.
Aisha Farooqui further said that the Embassy of Pakistan in Vienna was coordinating with the IAEA for an early shipment of the equipment.
She said the provision of equipment would augment Pakistan’s national capacity to conduct COVID-19 tests, which was crucial in containing the spread of the disease.
Read more: COVID-19: China to send exotic walk-through machine for testing
“Pakistan deeply values the contribution of IAEA and its leadership for helping the member states in their efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic,” she added.
“We also acknowledge the generous contribution of the IAEA member states to boost scientific and technical capacities of other countries in combating this global crisis.”
Pakistan to receive IAEA’s testing equipment to conduct COVID-19 tests via ‘nuclear-derived technique’ https://t.co/GlfzHnAPRz pic.twitter.com/VHyfFiasZM
— Now News Network (@NowNewsPK) April 17, 2020
The FO spokesperson said Pakistan had a longstanding relationship with the IAEA, and as its founding member, would continue to benefit from its technical assistance from various fields, including health, agriculture and energy, besides contributing to the Agency’s work of promoting the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
Speaking about the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis abroad amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Farooqui said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its embassies and missions had launched a robust and round-the-clock outreach initiative to provide the overseas communities relief and assistance, including food.
China provides Pakistan testing equipment
Earlier in March, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Foundation and Alibaba Foundation sent a cargo plane carrying medical equipment to Pakistan. The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan claims that two tons of supplies, worth Rs 67 million, were delivered to Karachi. These included face masks, test kits, ventilators and personal protective equipment.
“Collectively, the nations will receive a total of 1.8 million masks; kits for testing 210,000 people, 36,000 pieces of protective clothing, as well as essential medical equipment such as ventilators and forehead thermometers.”
The Chinese Embassy of Pakistan has been regularly posting updates on this whole endeavour on microblogging website Twitter.
Besides this, China had also two more air crafts carrying medical equipment for testing coronavirus suspected patients. Meanwhile, China is the first country which has sent its professional doctors to train Pakistani doctors for treating coronavirus patients.