Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majed bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, the rotatory president of the Arab Ministers of Information Council, chaired virtually today the 4th Arab Chinese Cooperation symposium in the field of information organized by the Arab League in coordination with the State Council Information Office of China (SCIO). At the outset of the symposium, the Acting minister welcomed the Minister and Vice-Minister of the State Council Information Office of China (SCIO), Arab ministers of information, the head of the media sector of the General Secretariat of Arab League States, and media officials in Arab countries and the People's Republic of China. Dr. Al-Qasabi pointed out that the partnership between Arab countries and China through the China–Arab States Cooperation Forum, established after the visit of President Hu Jintao to the headquarters of the Arab League on January 30, 2004, represents today a pioneering and ideal model of cooperation, partnership, and interaction between peoples, to achieve the goals of the forum in promoting dialogue and cooperation in various fields. The Acting Minister affirmed that the Coronavirus pandemic had imposed unprecedented challenges that placed our countries and institutions in the face of an unparalleled international crisis, noting in this regard great efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during its presidency of G20 2020. He added that the Kingdom chaired an extraordinary virtual summit, which issued a joint statement stressing the highest priority to combat the pandemic and its interrelated health, social and economic consequences. Dr. Al-Qasabi indicated that the G20 countries have adopted many ways to address health, economic and social impacts of this pandemic, pledging more than $21 billion to support the immediate funding needs for the development of diagnostic tools, vaccines, and effective therapeutics, injecting over $11 trillion into the global economy to support businesses and protect individuals' livelihoods, alleviating $ 14 billion on the debt burden on countries most at risk, and launching the Riyadh Initiative. The Acting Minister explained that the global media faced an important challenge during the pandemic due to the spread of rumors and misinformation about the emerging of COVID-19 and the questioning of scientific facts about it, which threatened to undermine the efforts made to raise awareness of the danger of this disease. He also pointed out that official media institutions have made intensified efforts, in coordination with officials in the health sectors in our countries, to deliver messages about the virus, ways to prevent it, and address rumors and anonymous information that question the reality of the pandemic, its danger, or the safety of precautionary measures taken to limit its spread. The Acting Minister of Media stated that the Arab countries view China as a reliable international partner to achieve common development goals in all fields, including the media field. He also indicated that Arab countries view the Belt and Road Initiative comprehensively that exceeds the limited economic outlook; they see the initiative as a dialogue between peoples politically, culturally, and socially. At the end of his speech, the Acting Minister wished success to participants in the symposium to discuss media responsibility in promoting joint Arab-Chinese development in light of the Coronavirus pandemic.
