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MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday called on member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to ensure unimpeded access to medical supplies and technologies for all, especially the future COVID-19 vaccine, amid the pandemic of the coronavirus.
“We have to ensure the unhindered flow of medical supplies and technologies, especially COVID-19 vaccines. It is crazy to assume that there may be pockets of safe havens from a global pandemic. We have to defeat the virus everywhere or no one is sure, “Duterte said in his speech at the APEC online forum hosted by Malaysia this year.
“To do this, we need to strengthen the partnership to make vaccines a global public good,” he said.
Duterte said that information “is the key to effective response and mitigation efforts” amid the pandemic.
“We welcome Malaysia’s initiative to establish a live COVID online portal precisely to share best practices,” he said.
He also called for “free, open and fair” trade among APEC members.
“This is key to achieving a sustained and inclusive economic recovery, where APEC will play an important role,” he said.
The leaders of the 21 Pacific Rim economies, which account for about 60 percent of global GDP, discussed the response to the deadly disease and adopted a new vision for post-pandemic cooperation in the region.
APEC members are ready to adopt the APEC Post-2020 Vision, which will replace the 1994 Bogor Goals, by setting the forum’s goals to promote free trade and regional connectivity after the coronavirus pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a lasting impact on the way we view trade and economic priorities within APEC,” Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in his opening remarks.
“We need to trade and invest to get out of the current economic recession. We must come together and work constructively so that the region navigates a path of solid, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and recovery,” he said.
Founded in 1989, APEC is a platform for discussions on free trade and economic cooperation of the countries of the Pacific Rim covering 37 percent of the world’s population, including 48 percent of the world’s trade volume.
The group consists of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United United. United States and Vietnam: with a report from Kyodo News
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