On Thursday, China conducted a high-level ministerial meet on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) themed around "strengthening BRI international cooperation and jointly combating COVID-19." The virtual conference chaired by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, was attended by foreign ministers or ministers from 25 countries as well as Director-General of World Health Organization and the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.

The key agenda of the meet was to build a united front against coronavirus and combat different hurdles emerging out of it ranging from providing basic medical supplies, food supplies, providing safety gear to all the frontline workers, to boosting and funding scientific research and uplifting economies.

The meeting members agreed to assist and coordinate with the United Nations and the World Health Organisation in their global efforts to control and contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Nations also acknowledged the need to eliminate any form of discrimination, stigmatization, racism and xenophobia emerging out of the pandemic response.

The member nations also supported the proposal for developing the Health Silk Road, - to provide timely and necessary information, strengthening and upgrading the capacity of public health system, promoting joint scientific research and international dialogues among health professionals, and providing assistance and affordable quality health products to countries in need.

The RBI, which is known for building high-level infrastructural, economic and trade projects all across the world linking over 100 nations, agreed to promote environmentally sustainable projects, following the guidelines the UN Global Compact. The online meeting also welcomed the G20's initiative on suspension of debt service payments for the world's least developed countries for supporting their economic recoveries and sustainable development.

The joint statement was being agreed to by ministers from the Republic of Belarus, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Chile, the People’s Republic of China, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Hellenic Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Nepal, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Singapore, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Kingdom of Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation delivered a written statement.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the ambitious initiative aimed at connecting over 100 nations across Asia, Europe and beyond, had been “seriously affected” by the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, Wang Xiaolong, director-general of the ministry's International Economic Affairs Department, in a news briefing told reporters,“About 20% percent of the projects have been seriously affected.” According to a Refinitiv database, more than 2,600 projects amounting about $3.7 trillion are linked to the initiative.

WAM