a high regard = a high concern?

[joham]

To better prevent an accident like the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, there must be a high regard given to matters of safety.

The underlined 'regard' is closest in meaning to ________.
A. respect B. concern C. standard D. education

The given answer is B. But does 'a high concern' equal 'a high regard'?

Thank you in advance.

[SoothingDave]

In this context, yes.