Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, In his address to the ongoing 12th G20 Summit, has put forward two suggestions on what member countries could do together, the media reported on Sunday, November 22.
The first suggestion is to ensure affordable and equitable access to vaccines, Xinhua news agency quoted The Straits Times report as saying.
Lee said that he was glad the G20 had advanced vaccine multilateralism by backing global initiatives such as the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator and the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility.
He also said that Singapore will continue to work closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to accelerate vaccine development and enhance long-term pandemic preparedness.
Global Disease Surveillance
The second suggestion is to strengthen global disease surveillance networks so that the world will be better prepared for the next pandemic.
Lee said that the effectiveness of such networks depends on countries investing in their domestic surveillance and response capabilities as well as on their willingness to share information with one another.
Besides, he said that Singapore stands ready to support the G20 in its endeavors to reinvigorate multilateralism and to create a fair, predictable, and stable international order, which will allow every country, big and small, to grow and prosper.
Singapore is an invited guest country to the G20 summit this year.
