TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2020) Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Saturday promised to supply the coronavirus-hit Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with medical aid in excess of $200 million, national media said.
Supplies will include medicine, equipment and support of medical research in the 10-nation regional organization, according to the Japanese broadcaster NHK.
Suga spoke by video at an ASEAN summit attended by leaders of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as well as ASEAN's partners China and South Korea.
The Japanese prime minister vowed to help strengthen ASEAN economies by bolstering supply chains and digitalizing industries, the NHK added. He also said that universal health coverage was key to dealing with the pandemic.
