Deputy Minister-Level Officials Attend from Sweden, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, and Others
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Lee Tae-ho, the 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, participated on the 21st in a deputy minister-level video conference among nine countries regarding cooperation on the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines. The video conference was attended by deputy ministers from Sweden, Canada, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Tunisia, and South Korea. The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, participated as invited speakers.
At this video conference, participants exchanged views on strengthening multilateral cooperation to secure COVID-19 vaccines, evaluated efforts to launch global vaccine supply mechanisms centered on the WHO and Gavi such as ACT-A and the COVAX Facility, and discussed future plans for inter-country cooperation.
Vice Minister Lee stated that the development and distribution of safe and effective vaccines and treatments are essential to eradicate COVID-19, which is spreading beyond borders. He emphasized that although competition among countries to secure vaccines is intensifying, all countries should continue to cooperate through multilateral systems to ensure sufficient and equitable access to vaccines regardless of income levels.
Furthermore, Vice Minister Lee explained that under the principle of "No one is safe until everyone is safe," the Korean government is making multifaceted efforts to secure vaccines to meet domestic demand, including △ developing vaccines independently △ pre-purchasing vaccines overseas △ participating in multilateral vaccine development systems.
He also introduced the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), established in Korea for vaccine research and development and distribution to developing countries, and mentioned that the government supports IVI in expanding cooperation with other countries.
In response, the participants agreed on the importance of multilateral cooperation to overcome COVID-19 and decided to continue related cooperation and communication.
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