ISLAMABAD, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa held a telephone conversation with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, discussing measures related to polio eradication and COVID-19 in Pakistan, the military said on Saturday.
Gates conveyed appreciation for the "Pakistan army for supporting national polio drive, ensuring proper reach and coverage," the army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
He also appreciated Pakistan's success against COVID-19 despite resource constraints, it added.
The army chief attributed the success to a truly national response, executed through the mechanism of the National Command and Operation Center, a department set up during the peak of the pandemic in Pakistan to formulate policies and supervise their implementation in the national fight against COVID-19, which allowed optimization of resources, it added.
Bajwa appreciated Gates' efforts against polio and COVID-19, and assured him of continued cooperation, the ISPR said. ■