Asia-Pacific economies should support one another to tackle pandemics, and countries whose vaccination programmes are ahead should make their excess vaccine supplies available to others, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.
Singapore therefore intends to donate its vaccines under the Covax initiative to other countries, he told a virtual gathering of leaders from the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) members.
About 45 per cent of Singapore's population are fully vaccinated, and the country is on track to cover two-thirds of its people by National Day next month.
Covax is a global vaccine sharing scheme that aims to ensure an equitable supply for lower-and middle-income countries.
In his remarks to fellow leaders, PM Lee said Apec members must work together to prepare for the next pandemic, rebuild connections and liberalise trade, and pursue new areas of growth.
The special Apec Informal Leaders' Retreat was convened by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, whose country chairs the grouping this year, to shape a regional response to the recovery from Covid-19. This is the first time the leaders have held an additional meeting before their formal year-end gathering, due in November.
PM Lee said Covid-19 will not be the last nor the most serious pandemic the world will face, and security from pandemics depends on bolstering multilateralism.
This calls for a major step-up in collective investments, including a scaled-up global surveillance system for emerging infectious disease outbreaks, which the Group of 20 High Level Independent Panel made a strong case for in its recent report, he noted.
"We need a more agile global governance and financing mechanism that can swiftly plug gaps in global health security," he said.
"Within our region, Apec economies should support one another, both for the present and future pandemics. For example, through technical assistance to strengthen national public health capabilities, the last mile."
He added that while countries are understandably working towards more self-reliance, especially for essential goods, amid disrupted international trade and movement of people across borders, they should not take this too far.
"Free trade is still essential to global economic recovery and prosperity," he said.
"We should also work together to restart international travel safely, by developing common standards for digital vaccine certificates and digital identities."
Topics that the leaders discussed included speeding up the flow of vaccines; strong, balanced, secure, sustainable and inclusive growth; innovation and digitalisation; fiscal and monetary tools to sustain economies through the pandemic; and the importance of keeping markets open to one another.
They said in a joint statement after the meeting: "We must ensure our health systems cover all people and have the resilience to cope with current and future shocks. We welcome the varied and continuous efforts as well as the contribution of additional resources across Apec to combat the pandemic."
The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040, for the prosperity of future generations.
In his remarks, PM Lee said that Covid-19 has accelerated the switch to a digital economy, and countries should cooperate on new areas of economic growth.
Singapore, for example, has piloted digital economy agreements with like-minded economies such as New Zealand, Chile and Australia - all Apec members. These pacts align rules and standards, and foster cross-border digital interoperability, data flows and trade.
Beyond Covid-19, the green economy presents another growth opportunity.
PM Lee noted that like many Apec members, Singapore is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and has a comprehensive national strategy to mitigate it and create a green, liveable and sustainable city.
"But being a very small country, our own mitigation efforts will have limited impact. It is only by working together with others that we can overcome this global challenge, and that is why Singapore is exploring green economy agreements to facilitate trade and investment in environmental goods and services, and strengthen environmental governance and capabilities."
Ms Ardern said: "Nobody is safe from this virus until everyone is safe. Ensuring both global vaccine access and uptake are as high as possible in the shortest time possible gives our regional and individual economies the greatest chance to accelerate recovery, and will support greater economic stability."
