Mexico urges G20 leaders to agree on universal recognition of COVID-19 vaccines

Mexico's Foreign Ministry has urged international leaders of G20 to agree on universal recognition of COVID-19 vaccines. Foreign Minister of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, took to the microblogging site Twitter and called on world leaders to recognise vaccines universally and boost vaccination in developing countries. He also said that vaccines should not be a subject of geopolitics.

On Saturday, Ebrard arrived at the G20 summit in Rome and met Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). He stated that he thanked Tedros Ghebreyesus for his contributions to the pandemic and explained why vaccines like Sputnik and CanSino must be recognised sooner rather than later. According to the Foreign Minister, he was extremely helpful and pleasant to work with. Earlier, Ebard spoke at a news conference on August 10, where he said that Mexico urged the countries of the G20 group to accept the vaccines approved by the WHO.

Mexico's President also urged the WHO to expedite the approval of vaccines

This seems to be a strategy that Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's government has publicly espoused. During a press conference on October 13, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador urged the WHO to expedite the approval of vaccines that have demonstrated their efficacy and haven't caused any health problems. When asked about Sputnik V, a Russian vaccine, and CanSino, a Chinese vaccine, the president said that the WHO must act with integrity, free of political or ideological bias, and in accordance with scientific principles, according to Market Research Telecast. 

In the meantime, at the G20 conference on Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled a six-point Global Vaccine Cooperation Action Initiative. The plan calls for more vaccines to be provided to underdeveloped countries to fulfil the WHO's worldwide vaccination objective by 2022.

Vladimir Putin urges the G20 countries to recognise vaccines quickly

Also, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the G20 countries must move quickly to find a solution for mutual recognition of vaccines. He also stated that the WHO's prequalification process for new vaccines must be accelerated. Russian President also noted that Russia's Sputnik V vaccination has been approved for use in over 70 countries with a combined population of over 4 billion people, confirming its high safety and efficacy.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: AP