ISLAMABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is looking forward to Saudi Arabia's assistance in establishing an advanced health system, as it expects that coronavirus-related risks will linger long after the initial outbreak is quelled in Pakistan, AJK President Masood Khan told Arab News.

On May 2, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki, on behalf of the Muslim World League (MWL) donated to the AJK government masks, sterilizers, test kits, and personal protective equipment to support the region's coronavirus response.

"Time and again, Saudi Arabia has helped Pakistan and Azad Kashmir in most crucial times, we are grateful to them," Khan said in an interview with Arab News on Tuesday.

"Saudi Arabia can help us a lot, it helped us in past in educational sector and we would welcome their investment in telemedicine, pharmaceutical and in biotechnology in Azad Kashmir," he said.

Although Pakistan has witnessed a sharp increase in the number of recorded coronavirus infections and fatalities, AJK is the only part of the country where no virus-related deaths have been reported. The region, inhabited by 4 million people, has fewer than 80 known COVID-19 cases.

Khan attributed these optimistic results to preparedness, which was boosted by Saudi Arabia's earlier investments in Azad Kashmir's health infrastructure. 

He said, however, that the current crisis is not a one-off event and even if the outbreak is contained soon, it is likely to return, for which Azad Kashmir needs to prepare, also in terms of medical expertise.

"We need a state-of-the-art health system and in that the Kingdom can help us ... Saudi universities have research capacity and our universities wish to collaborate with them," he said.

In October 2005, when a 7.6-magnitude earthquake ravaged Azad Kashmir and other parts of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia helped Pakistan rebuild and rehabilitate affected areas. It also financed the construction of King Abdullah University in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir after the quake.