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SINGAPORE – With the Covid-19 pandemic dominating the agenda on the first day of the Riyadh Group of 20 (G-20) summit on Saturday (November 21), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on world leaders that they work together to ensure the equity of vaccine distribution and strengthen disease surveillance networks.
Speaking at the first session of the two-day meeting, held virtually due to travel restrictions, Prime Minister Lee told G-20 leaders that the group is well placed to coordinate and push forward the global response required to deal with the crisis. .
He noted that the Saudi presidency had galvanized international action by coordinating fiscal resources, priorities and policies globally, supporting the most vulnerable countries, and completing a G-20 Plan of Action for a strong and sustainable economic recovery.
Singapore fully supports these efforts, said Mr Lee, who made two suggestions on what more G20 countries could do together.
The first is to ensure affordable and equitable access to vaccines, a point also made by other leaders, including the King of Saudi Arabia Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who chaired the meeting.
The scale of the pandemic sparked a scramble for medical supplies earlier this year with some countries limiting exports, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of a similar situation with “vaccine nationalism.”
Lee said he was pleased that the G-20 had advanced vaccine multilateralism by supporting global initiatives such as Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator and Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (Covax) Facility, which were established to ensure that distribution of the new vaccines will be shared equally.
Singapore is co-chair of the Friends of Covax Facility and will do its part to contribute to Covax’s Advanced Market Engagement, which helps finance vaccines for low-income countries, he added. It will also continue to work closely with WHO and the Coalition for Outbreak Preparedness Innovations to accelerate vaccine development and improve long-term pandemic preparedness, he said.
The second suggestion Mr. Lee made was to strengthen global disease surveillance networks so that the world is better prepared for the next pandemic. “Covid-19 has wreaked havoc around the world. But the next pandemic, Disease X, may be more contagious and much more deadly,” he said.
He added that the effectiveness of such networks depends on countries investing in their national surveillance and response capabilities, as well as their willingness to share information among themselves.
Mr. Lee also hoped that all countries would embrace multilateral cooperation under the leadership of WHO, saying: “Covid-19 has reinforced the need for countries to work together. Ultimately, no country is safe until all countries are safe. “
“Singapore stands ready to support the G20 in its efforts to revitalize multilateralism and create a just, predictable and stable international order, which will allow all countries, large and small, to grow and prosper,” he added.
The G-20 comprises 19 large advanced and emerging economies and the European Union, and was convened by the United States to coordinate a global response to the global financial crisis of 2008.
Singapore has been invited to this year’s G20 meetings as a guest. He is also the convener of the Global Governance Group (3G), an informal coalition of 30 countries that seeks to influence the G-20 to take into account the interests of the smaller countries affected by its decisions.
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