Indonesian Foreign Minister Joins Co-Chairs of COVAX-AMC EG
Source: kemlu.go.id
Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno LP Marsudi has been elected as one of the co-chairs of the multilateral cooperation program for vaccine COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) Engagement Group (EG).
“In the early hours of 13 January 2021, we received news from GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, through Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia in Geneva that Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs has been elected as one of the co-chairs of the COVAX AMC EG,” the Foreign Minister said in a written statement as quoted from kemlu.go.id page, Thursday (14/01).
According to Retno, she will lead this collaboration with two other chairs, namely Ethiopian Health Minister Lia Tadesse who represents AMC countries and Canadian International Development Minister Karina Gould who represents donor countries.
Indonesia, she added, managed to garner the most votes of 41 percent in the voting conducted by 92 country members of the AMC 92 Economies.
“This shows trust from the international community, especially developing countries, to Indonesia. This also means Indonesia’s big responsibility to accomplish equal access to vaccines for all countries. This big responsibility must be fulfilled as well as possible,” Retno said.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Indonesia has consistently voiced the principle of equal access to vaccines for all countries, she said.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Retno further said, has repeatedly stressed the importance of equal access to vaccines for all these countries in various international forums including the ASEAN Summit, the G20 Summit, the APEC Summit, as well as the UN General Assembly.
“We believe that this global pandemic will not be resolved if all countries have not been able to solve the pandemic in their respective countries,” she said.
For the record, COVAX-AMC EG is a forum between 92 AMC countries and donor countries for the procurement and distribution of vaccines for AMC countries.
The COVAX Facility sets a vaccine procurement target for 20 percent of the population of every AMC country and supports the readiness of AMC countries to undertake a national vaccination plan.
“The procurement will be carried out in stages because there are still limited vaccines available to all countries,” Retno stated.
This procurement target, she added, is not easy to fulfill, both in terms of available resources and the readiness of all countries to receive these vaccines.
However, Retno expressed belief that the close cooperation of all countries will help achieve the target.
The Foreign Minister stated that she would establish intensive communication with GAVI which is based in Switzerland through the Permanent Mission in Geneva.
“The Geneva team will immediately carry out intensive communication with GAVI. We have also prepared the Jakarta team. Meanwhile, I will also contact the two other chairs to establish communication,” she stated. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs PR/UN) (FI/EP)
