Asean, US deepen cooperation to battle Covid-19

The United States and Asean leaders have agreed to strengthen their cooperation to counter the Covid-19 pandemic and recover their economies post-pandemic.
Leaders from the 10-nation bloc and the US held a virtual special foreign ministerial meeting on Wednesday, co-chaired by Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Saleumxay Kommasith and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
 The two sides agreed to deepen their collaboration in key priority areas, particularly the joint battle against the Covid-19 epidemic through the exchange of information and good practices.

 Other cooperation areas include research and development, joint production of Covid-19 vaccine, equitable access to vaccine through the COVAX Facility, and economic recovery.
 They also agreed to cooperate in digital economy and sustainable development, notably the support of the Asean smart Cities network and Asean connectivity, as well as human resource development and narrowing the development gap between Asean member countries.  
 According to the Jakarta Post, the online ministerial conference is the first such high-level meeting between the two sides under the administration of US President Joe Biden. Laos serves as Asean Country Coordinator for the United States.
 During the meeting, the two sides informed one another regarding the response by the US and Asean member countries to the Covid-19 crisis.
 They shared lessons and experiences as well as good practices on how different countries countered the virus.
 Mr Saleumxay told the meeting how the Lao government had dealt with the Covid-19 outbreak over the past three months.
 The government has imposed lockdown measures to curb the spread of the virus while encouraging many more people to get vaccinated. 
 Just recently, the United States announced the donation of 1,008,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine to Laos, which is set to arrive on Thursday.
 The delivery will bolster the government’s efforts to achieve its goal of vaccinating 50 percent of the population by the end of this year.
 Finally, Asean and US leaders anticipated the Asean-US Ministerial Meeting and the 9th Asean-US Summit, to be held in August and October 2021 respectively.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update July 15, 2021)