On March 23, China held a video conference on COVID-19 prevention and control with Latin American and Caribbean countries. Officials from the Chinese Foreign Ministry and National Health Commission and experts in the areas of disease control, clinical treatment, civil aviation, customs and community-based quarantine shared information and experience with their counterparts from Latin American and Caribbean countries.
The participating countries attached great importance to the meeting, more than 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries attended, such as Antigua, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, etc. Two doctors from the Dominica-China Friendship Hospital, Ms. Sandra Daniel and Ms. Portia Meade attended the Conference at the Chinese Embassy in Dominica. Counsellor LUO Songtao and Attaché GONG Zhengjie of the Chinese Embassy also attended and provided technical assistance.
In response to the concerns of their foreign counterparts, Chinese experts briefed them on the experience and practices on epidemic prevention and control, clinical diagnosis and treatment, equipment support and port inspection and quarantine, and answered more than 20 questions raised by the attendees including Dominican representatives. This three-hour meeting proved very relevant and effective, which was attended by over 200 people.
Those participants highly appraised China's achievements in fighting against the epidemic and its great contribution to global public health. They said this video conference was very timely and necessary as they could learn a lot from China's experience. They stand ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China to jointly tackle the challenge of COVID-19.
Going forward, China will continue to uphold the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and the spirit of mutual assistance and solidarity, share information with the international community, the Latin American and Caribbean countries included, in an open, transparent and responsible manner, and deepen international cooperation in epidemic prevention and control.