COVID-19: PM Imran to participate in online WEF session on May 20

Prime Minister Imran Khan will participate in an online meeting organised under COVID Action Platform of World Economic Forum (WEF) on May 20.

While chairing a video link meeting in Islamabad, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the premier will apprise the international community of Pakistan's viewpoint on coronavirus pandemic, situation in India-occupied Kashmir, and his debt relief proposal for debilitated economies of the world.

"Pakistan is taking all out steps to stop the spread of coronavirus despite its limited resources," Qureshi said, adding that we have to curb the rapid spread of coronavirus in order to resume the economic activities of the country.

Also read: Coronavirus pandemic can result in prolonged global recession: WEF

According to a a report by the World Economic Forum, risk managers expect a prolonged global recession as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Two-thirds of the 347 respondents to the survey — carried out in response to the outbreak — put a lengthy contraction in the global economy, on top of their list of concerns for the next 18 months.

Half of the risk managers expect bankruptcies and industry consolidation, the failure of industries to recover, and high levels of unemployment, particularly among the young.

“The crisis has devastated lives and livelihoods. It has triggered an economic crisis with far-reaching implications and revealed the inadequacies of the past,” said Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the World Economic Forum.