13 countries unite to reduce coronavirus' economic impact

AP , Saturday 18 Apr 2020

German-French Border
This picture taken on April 18, 2020 shows the closed German-French border between Carling in France and Lauterbach in Germany, on April 18, 2020, on the 33rd day of a lockdown in France aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection caused by the novel coronavirus (Photo: AFP)

 A group of thirteen countries including Britain, Brazil, Italy and Germany is calling for global cooperation to lessen the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a joint statement the group said it is committed to ``work with all countries to coordinate on public health, travel, trade, economic and financial measures in order to minimize disruptions and recover stronger.''

The countries emphasized the need to maintain ``air, land and marine transportation links'' to ensure the continued flow of goods, including medical equipment and aid, and the return home of travelers.

They want key transport hubs around the world to remain open and for airlines to maintain major routes.

The group also including Canada, France, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, South Korea, Singapore and Turkey  stressed ``the importance and critical role of the scientific community in providing guidance to governments'' and suggested pooling scientific resources.

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