KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has called on Asean and China to enhance cooperation in public health and pharmaceutical capabilities through the sharing of technology, know-how and intellectual property.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said cooperation in this area would be helpful in upgrading Asean's public health systems, to ensure the member countries will be prepared to effectively deal with future health emergencies.
Moreover, in view of nationalism and geo-politics rivalry shaping responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, including the distribution of vaccines, he said a new global health security architecture that underpinned by shared commitment, collective responsibility, transparency and accountability has to be developed.
He said this while speaking in his intervention note at the ASEAN-China Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Asean-China Dialogue Relations held via video conference from here, Monday.
The Special Summit was chaired by Brunei's ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah as his country is the chair to this year's Asean chairmanship. It was also attended by China's President Xi Jinping.
The prime minister had also stressed that socio-economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic is a top priority as countries move towards the post-pandemic stage.
He said towards this end, Asean and China should consolidate cooperation in digital economy, transformation and infrastructure, as well as connectivity to ensure supply chains continue to expand and remain unimpeded.
In his concluding remarks, Ismail Sabri said Malaysia congratulated Asean and China for the various activities carried out this year to celebrate our 30 years of dialogue relations.
"I am confident that Asean-China dialogue relations will continue to thrive and deepen. Towards this end, Malaysia views that with a strong network through a common Asean-China platform, our think tanks can play a very important role in contributing towards a stronger and more resilient Asean-China partnership;" he said. -- Bernama