BAKU, May 5 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Azerbaijan President and the Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ilham Aliyev has proposed for a special video conference of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly at the level of heads of state and government dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The president made the proposal during his opening speech at Monday’s online Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group, where he had said global solidarity will be a way forward to tackling the pandemic, reported Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC)
Aliyev said that the COVID-19 global pandemic has had a negative impact on all countries.
“We can overcome COVID-19 with mutual support, self-control and joint efforts only.”
Aliyev stressed that the priority for Azerbaijan during the pandemic has been to protect human health and ensure their social protection.
“As a result of all the measures taken in the country, it has been possible to prevent mass infections. Over the past three weeks, there has been a positive trend between the number of people infected and those recovering in Azerbaijan,” he said.
In his speech, Aliyev also highlighted the work done to ensure economic stability in Azerbaijan during the pandemic, solve employment problems and maintain macroeconomic and financial stability, noting that a socioeconomic support package worth 3.5 billion manats had been adopted for the purpose.
The summit was also joined by heads of state and government from more than 40 member states. Given that the Non-Aligned Movement includes 120 countries, the summit was held in the format of a Contact Group with the participation of countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America based on the principle of geographical representation.
The President of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande said that no country could overcome this difficulty on its own.
“As the United Nations, we are very pleased to support such initiatives and want to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We would also like to see inequality among all states and nations eliminated,” he said.
The event then featured a video address by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who said that the scale and complexity of the crisis demand a coordinated global response.
“The only answer is brave, visionary and collaborative leadership. With two-thirds of UN member states, the Non-Aligned Movement has a critical role to play in forging global solidarity,” he said.
— BERNAMA