ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan held a telephonic conversation with Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the prime minister office in Islamabad said on Wednesday.

Both exchanged views on the latest status of COVID-19 pandemic, polio eradication campaign, health and development issues, and climate change, a statement from the prime minister’s office said.

 “The Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the work of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for fighting poverty, combating COVID-19 pandemic and inequalities around the world,” according to the statement.

While commending the Gates Foundation’s strong advocacy to promote equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, Khan underscored the importance of equitable, timely, and scaled delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries.

The Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and Gates agreed on the importance of urgently stopping the spread of COVID-19, polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases in Pakistan.

Khan also reaffirmed that eradication of Polio remained a key priority of the government and efforts were underway to intensify the anti-Polio campaign across the country despite COVID-19 related challenges.

On his part Gates acknowledged Pakistan’s commitment to address climate change and agreed that the world must come together to face this global challenge.

 “While highlighting that food systems are particularly vulnerable to climate change, he (Gates) emphasized that the global leaders should prioritize investments in agricultural research for adaptation,” the statement further said. He also suggested Prime Minister Khan to leverage Pakistan’s unique voice to raise awareness for increasing global support for smallholder farmers.