Vietnam calls for G20 Covid-19 vaccine production pact

The agreement can be signed by G20 economies and their global partners through technological transfer with intellectual property protection, Phuc said at the G20 summit hosted this weekend.

A press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Phuc also called for fair access and appropriate pricing for Covid-19 vaccines and drugs. He said overcoming the pandemic required adapting to the "new normal" – focusing on economic recovery while preventing outbreaks.

Countries also need to cooperate in global policies and engage in strengthened multilateral cooperation to beat Covid-19, he said.

He commended G20 economies' important achievements in the Covid-19 fight, including increased coordination on macro-scale policies for economic recovery.

Phuc noted that as the 2020 ASEAN chair, Vietnam cooperated with other members and partners to deploy measures to prevent Covid-19 and initiate economic recovery while maintaining momentum envisioning and achieving the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, he said.

The Vietnamese PM stressed the importance of promoting transborder commerce and investment, maintaining supply chains, especially for food, medicine and other necessities, and supporting multilateral trade cooperation on the basis of freedom, fairness and transparency.

He requested the G20 to continue their pioneering role in forming global frameworks and agreements on digital economy management.

The 2020 G20 summit gathered representatives of all the bloc members as well as leaders of global institutions like the United Nations and the World Bank. Vietnam participated as a guest.