Mercosur authorities agreed on Wednesday (18.03.2020) to take joint health actions against the coronavirus via video conference, the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry reported.
Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez participated in a virtual meeting with the heads of state of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, and the foreign minister of Argentina, Felipe Solá, countries that make up the Southern Common Market (Mercosur).
Following the meeting, Foreign Minister Antonio Rivas said that the authorities exchanged information that will be updated daily through the various ministers involved to determine the impact of the virus in the region.
It was also discussed border controls applied within the framework of the emergency, reaffirming the collaboration between member states to control the health issue so that the coronavirus does not spread in the region.
Minister Rivas announced that work will be done on the repatriation of passengers stranded in countries both inside and outside the regional bloc. “We will work to repatriate citizens who are stranded due to travel issues in one part of the world so that they can reach their countries in a timely manner,” said.
The need was agreedd to continue guaranteeing the free movement of cargo, merchandise and supplies, with the aim of minimizing the impacts that the coronavirus could have in different countries and thus ensure that the economy “continues to move normally.”
In the health area, the different countries agreed to reduce the tariffs for the import of medicines and medical supplies in the region, so that hospitals are supplied.
"Facilitation and cooperation in other areas related to the situation we are experiencing regarding the issue of air traffic, land transportation and other general issues were also addressed during the meeting.”, he explained.
Asked about Brazil's position of not closing its borders, he explained that its president Jair Bolsonaro recognized that the situation is serious, hence the need to strengthen measures to prevent Covid-19 from infecting more people.
"At the meeting Brazil expressed its full collaboration with the other Mercosur countries to work together”, he said while reporting that the Brazilian president welcomed the measures adopted by the Paraguayan government.
During the video conference, the focus was on joint work to adopt economic measures and access to loans with international organizations such as the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Financial Fund for the Development of the Countries of the La Plata Basin (Fonplata).
"We must take into account that there is not only the spread of the coronavirus but also the economic issue. The most important thing is health and safeguarding people's jobs," he stressed.
The Secretary of State finally announced the Continuity of virtual meetings which will be headed by the foreign ministers and health ministers of the different countries, to resolve the problems that could be caused by the closure of borders and the spread of the virus.
COVID-19 | Summary of topics from the virtual meeting of Heads of State, Foreign Ministers and Ministers of Health of Mercosur, held at the Government Palace.https://t.co/xZVWSbnUKy# COVID19 #CoronavirusPy pic.twitter.com/imnpBI0grf
— Paraguayan Foreign Ministry (@mreparaguay) March 18, 2020
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